


The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

by SangoChan2



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2017-12-22 16:09:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/915252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SangoChan2/pseuds/SangoChan2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective inspector Dwalin wanted just three peaceful days with his Ori, but instead ended up with an attempted murder, a stolen statue, a missing person and one very devoted officer^^ </p>
<p>a modern day AU<br/>a loose threequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/739437/chapters/1376554">Five Days for the Detective</a> and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/784837/chapters/1479956">Midnight Man</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cause part of me knows what you’re thinkin’

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 1 - Cause part of me knows what you’re thinkin’

Before he noticed the piece of paper wedged into the door of the _Café_ , Dwalin lit a cigarette, leaning on the lamp-post across the street. He checked his phone while taking a drag and the warm feeling of peace spread through him. No missed calls. That meant no new cases in the last two hours since he left the precinct. Good, that was good, he could switch off the phone and relax for-

His eyes fell on the paper. It seemed to be emitting soft light in the gloom of the dusk and an uneasy feeling took hold of the detective, making him drop his cigarette and walk over to the door, pulling the paper out. A note.

_Couldn’t wait any longer. Thanks again for help. B._

He stared at it for a moment before looking back at the door. He didn’t care so much about the message or from whom it was; what disconcerted him, however, was the fact that the door wasn’t locked. It was already eight, Ori was supposed to close three hours ago...

He heard a sad saxophone tune drifting peacefully from down the street with the wind. Not one of Bofur’s, that was Kili’s tune... The boy was already home then. Ori always locked the door when Kili left... 

Dwalin entered, rummaging in his pockets for keys and locking the door behind him. The place was empty, apart from two lonely cups in one of the booths...

One of them was on the left side of the table, the sugar shaker beside it half empty, an untouched strawberry cheesecake nearby... Nori? Nobody else put so much sugar in his coffee... Dwalin had seen him barely half an hour ago, on the other side of the town and the jeweller never mentioned being here today, nor apparently leaving in a hurry...

The cup opposite it was Ori’s blue one, the tea in it untouched too... What the hell happened here? Dwalin went through the kitchen, looking for any sign of the boy, passing rows of brioches on their best way to be flattened and connected to one another. Ori never left anything unattended in his kitchen, never.

_Couldn’t wait any longer..._

A sudden fear started to creep into the detective’s heart. How long was Ori gone? Where was he? Dwalin flung the back door open and ran up the stairs to their apartment, throwing the door there open as well in his agitation.

The living room was partly hidden in the darkness but he could still see Ori sitting on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, a big peace lily that definitely wasn’t there that morning above him on the window sill.

The blood turned cold in Dwalin’s veins, mostly because he had no idea what was going on. 'Ori, are you all right?' he asked, one hand still on the handle. 'The door wasn’t locked downstairs and... Why are you crying?' He almost shouted that last sentence, slamming the door behind him and rushing towards Ori but the boy was suddenly in his arms, wrapping his hands around the detective’s waist and pressing his face to his chest. Dwalin embraced him, feeling his tiny chest heaving with sobs he was trying to suppress.

He cupped the boy’s cheeks, forcing him to look at him, positively alarmed by now, 'Are you hurt?'

'N-no, but... I-I will be if you leave me,' Ori hiccupped, looking back at him with bloodshot eyes and he grasped Dwalin’s shirt as if expecting the detective to turn around and leave at that instant.

Dwalin pressed his lips to the boy’s, the taste of salt lingering on his tongue.

'Why on earth would you think I want to leave you?' he whispered, kissing him again, leaning his forehead against Ori’s and running his hands over his back gently, soothing him... He didn’t know what Nori told him but he will have to spare half an hour tomorrow to punch him nice and proper. He knew that it was a mistake to let him-

'I know about the case...' Ori mumbled, new tears coming into his eyes.

'Case?' Dwalin repeated, frowning, all the cases he was currently on flashing through his mind.

'The suitcase under the cupboard...' the boy explained quietly, pointing feebly at the cabinet under the new plant. 'It’s gone... and some...' he sniffed, '... some of your clothes too...'

Relief so immense washed over the detective that he actually laughed. He could really use a drink right now... but there was nothing in the apartment; whenever he bought a bottle, Ori snatched it to put it into a filling or a cream, so Dwalin gave up in the end... He chuckled, kissing the boy again, 'I guess the game’s over now. It would have never crossed my mind that you’ll notice a missing suitcase, because you never notice things like this, but now that you know... I’ll just have to tell you the truth.'

The boy let his arms fall from the detective’s sides, taking one step away from him and looking at him with wide eyes full of fear. Dwalin took his hand, leading him to the bedroom and Ori followed him weakly, staggering over a carpet there.

Once inside, the detective steered him in front of his wardrobe, opening it.

'What do you see?'

The boy blinked, his eyes running over the shelves, 'My clothes...'

'All of them?' Dwalin asked casually.

Ori nodded, brushing a sleeve over his cheeks, 'Yes... well, my blue jumper is missing. And jeans... and that white jumper you got me in- Why are my clothes missing too?'

Dwalin chuckled. The boy didn’t move. He was still standing in front of his shelves, looking confused. He was adorable when he was all dishevelled like that, with his pink cheeks and... The detective bent down to kiss him again, whispering, 'Don’t you get it? They are in the suitcase with mine, because tomorrow morning I was going to put you in the car (don’t look at me like that, we both know that wouldn’t wake you) and take you on holiday (well, I say holiday, it’s only three days because Thorin wouldn’t give me more), because it’s your birthday on Saturday. And come on, you can close the _Café_ for three days, Kili’s going away as well and why couldn’t-'

Ori slumped down to the floor and pressed his hands to his face, giving Dwalin a brand new fright. But when he next looked at him, he was smiling, tears streaming down his cheeks freely and he tried to dry them with the back of his hand clumsily.

And Dwalin’s breath was taken away. It happened to him fairly often lately, having this feeling of being the luckiest man in the world. Because nobody else had ever had Ori look at him like this, with so much love, with so much devotion... Closing his fingers around a small velvet box in his pocket, Dwalin realized that he had no idea what he had ever done to deserve all this.

'You must think me so silly,' Ori ran his hand over his eyes again, the other clutching his glasses, 'but I was so worried. First the call and then Nori... and then the suitcase...'

'What call?' Dwalin frowned, pulling Ori gently up to sit beside him on the bed.

Ori turned red. Not his usual 'maybe I have done something improper' kind of red; this was his 'I am so ashamed of myself, will you forgive me?' kind of red. Deep crimson, actually. 'I was... two days ago when you had to stay late at work, I came to the precinct to bring you dinner and I heard you on the phone with someone... I didn’t want to eavesdrop, I just heard when I came to the door and you were saying: _... in one hour? Where do you want to meet? No, no, not there, Ori might see us and I don’t want him to know about... this... Yeah, I know where it is... In one hour then._ '

Dwalin winced, it was pretty impressive, the way Ori seemed to remember every single thing he had ever said, word by word. Though he would rather prefer if he forgot this particular conversation...

So that was why the boy was so distracted that night, Dwalin knew something was wrong but Ori wouldn’t tell him...

'I thought that perhaps you were talking to one of your informants but then I realized you were talking about me and I thought...' Ori swallowed, looking at one of his sleeves, 'I thought that maybe you’re seeing someone else behind my back... But I guess you were talking with someone who was arranging for our holiday, right?'

'Yeah...' Dwalin nodded, scratching his head and not looking at the boy. If he ever goes to hell, it will be for lying. Though, strictly speaking... that wasn’t an actual lie...   

'And then Nori came today...' 

'Yeah,' the detective turned to look at him, 'what did he want?'

'I don’t really know,' Ori shook his head a little, 'but he was asking me about you all the time and whether I was happy with you and whether I was sure I loved you...'

'Of course he was,' Dwalin muttered.

'And he looked so uncomfortable during that... So I figured that maybe he had seen you with someone and didn’t really want to tell me... But then Bofur came and asked if I could look after his peace lily over the weekend because he has a reading somewhere in the south, and while I was putting it on the window sill I remembered that I bruised my toe against your suitcase in the morning, so I wanted to put it somewhere else but when I looked, it was gone, and I... I’m so sorry I spoiled your surprise.'

The detective chuckled, 'Don’t worry about that.'

'We are still going though?' Ori asked, biting his lower lip in the most endearing way, his eyes wide as if he was worried that once he found out about it, the holiday was cancelled.

'Of course we are. I’m afraid you wouldn’t sell those brioches anyway...'

Ori turned white, obviously only now remembering that he had left some pastries unattended, probably for the first time in his life. But then he blushed again, smiling shyly, 'And where are you kidnapping me to?'

Dwalin laughed, 'To that little hotel up in the mountains... It’s just outside my precinct and as far as I know there hasn’t been any robbery or murder, yet at least, so it should be nice and peaceful three days for a change...' What could possibly happen in a secluded resort when the season has just finished, right? Right. He should have known...

'So...,' he said after a moment, 'did Nori say anything else?'

Ori looked up at him, blinking with surprise and Dwalin swallowed. He made a point to never ask Ori about his family, at least ever since that fateful disappearance of the Heart of the mountain jewel more than a year ago, and the boy will definitely find it suspicious that he does it now but... if Nori in any way mentioned-

'Not much,' Ori replied, 'he said that Eilinor went on some trip and... well, perhaps he was just lonely and wanted to talk to someone... Do you think they had a fight? She never goes anywhere without him...'

'No, I don’t think so...' They didn’t have a fight. People who get into a fight with their spouse and go abroad don’t send back postcards saying ' _Having a wonderful time! You were right, Bruges is lovely. Love, Eilinor_ '.

He had seen it on the table in Nori’s apartment not even an hour ago. No, Mrs. Never-A-Step-Without-My-Husband-And-Embroidery obviously left with her husband’s consent and at good humour.

But Dwalin couldn’t say Ori any of that, because then he would have to admit that he was in Nori’s place and explain what he was doing there. Explain that he was picking up a small velvet package...

'Then Bofur came in,' the boy went on quietly, 'and Nori left straight away. You know how he is when he’s among strangers. I was really surprised that he came here... because he hasn’t been here in years...'

Dwalin caressed Ori's cheek lightly, thumb lingering on his lips for a moment. It was pretty obvious why Nori came... To make sure that Ori loved Dwalin; that he wasn’t putting his little brother into a potentially uncomfortable situation by giving Dwalin that little package. He must have gotten a positive answer however, because Dwalin now had said item in his pocket.

He was looking at Ori who was toying with his glasses absent-mindedly. He knew the boy was thinking about his brother, that he wished Nori had stayed longer... or at least visited more often...

A new song sounded outside, one Dwalin had never heard before. He had to admit, Kili’s skill matched Bofur’s and that was saying something. Before he could start pondering about why Kili was playing such sad songs however, he noticed Ori looking at him intently in the dark of the night.

'I love you,' the boy whispered, 'more than anything...'

He pressed his soft lips to Dwalin’s tenderly, running his tongue over his lower lip before sucking on it gently. A shiver ran through the detective’s body and he pulled Ori closer, shifting him so that he was now sitting on top of him. He loved this... the way Ori’s body seemed to fit perfectly around his own. It was like they were made for each other and the fact that they somehow managed to find each other always stroke him as a little miracle.

'I love you too,' he muttered against Ori’s lips, his voice suddenly husky.

'I’m so sorry I thought-'

Dwalin silenced him with another kiss, taking the boy’s jumper down in one motion together with his shirt and pulling him closer. Ori moaned, running his hands to the detective’s chest.

'You were worried because you love me?' Dwalin asked, coaxing another moan from the boy as he kissed the sensitive skin on his neck.

'Yes...' Ori gasped.

'Because you didn’t want me to leave you for someone else?' he ran his teeth gently to the boy’s collarbone and small fingers dug into his shoulders.

'Yes...' the word came out as a sigh and Ori tilted his head back a little, his breath irregular.

'Then I’m not mad,' Dwalin claimed the boy’s mouth again, withdrawing for a moment to look at him. 'Just don’t worry anymore, because that’s never going to happen...'

Ori uttered a sigh, pressing himself to the detective with new desperation. He cuddled to him, wrapping his arms around him so possessively that it made Dwalin smile. The detective pulled down his jacket quickly, before Ori’s impatient hands could do so and accidentally find the little packet hidden there. One surprise was spoiled; he had to protect the other one... 


	2. Though your world is changing, I will be the same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, in which Dwalin is nervous, has the symbolism of angels explained by Nori and makes a decision.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 2 - Though your world is changing, I will be the same

Dwalin was lying on his side, watching Ori sleeping peacefully in his arms. The boy’s hair was ruffled, still damp at temples, a faint trace of sweat still covering his soft skin... Dwalin ran his hand slowly over Ori’s back, letting it slide down to the boy’s backside. They have been together for fourteen months and god help him, their love-making was getting better each day. How was that even possible? He had no clue, absolutely no idea... 

He loved his tender, shy Ori but he loved his other side as well; because once aroused, the boy seemed to lose his bashfulness and was willing to do and try practically anything. Dwalin took a deep breath, trying not to think about the things Ori had just done to him because there was a risk of him waking the boy just to beg him to do it again and he really needed some sleep. Damn... what wonderful, gorgeous three days were ahead of him...

He snuggled closer to the boy, taking in his scent, lips brushing Ori’s lightly, tenderly, so that he wouldn’t wake him. The boy stroked Dwalin’s hand in his sleep, almost as if petting a small animal and mumbled, 'Angels... they write...' before yawning and continuing to snore silently, his rest undisturbed.

The detective smiled. Dreaming of angels tonight? He slowly untangled his arms from Ori’s warm body and got out of bed, not really bothering to get dressed, and made his way to the heap of their clothes on the floor. He found his jacket in the darkness and frisking his pockets located a packet of cigarettes and the small velvet box. He grabbed it all and made his way to the balcony as quietly as he could.

It was way bigger than the tiny fire escape he had in Ered Luin but Dwalin stayed at the door anyway, keeping an eye on the sleeping boy. He lit his cigarette and put the little box on the sill in front of him, eyeing it while his heart started to pound and his hands shake. Were other people getting this nervous too? Probably... He kept breathing flatly in between the drags, waiting for the sudden nervousness to pass and then he slowly reached for the box, opening it carefully. He had just the orange light of street lamps, mingled with the pale glow of the moon, but he could see them clearly.

Two rings sitting on a scarlet cushion. One small, one bigger. One for Ori, one for him...

Dwalin didn’t want a wedding. Not now. Not ever. He didn’t want flowers, vows, suits, cake and a bunch of people telling him how happy they were that he and Ori found each other. He didn’t want to stand in front of a priest with the boy, saying his vows while everyone listened...

He wanted, however, to see his ring on Ori’s finger. He wanted to tell him how much he meant to him, but when they were alone and there wasn’t anyone crying (Dwalin’s family) or shouting (Ori’s family). And he blamed Thorin for all of that. Him and his constant contemplations about how and when to best propose to Bilbo...

Dwalin could hardly recognize his best friend in these moments, because when it came to Bilbo, the usually serene chief inspector was just as enthusiastic as anyone else talking about the person they love. In the end these talks about weddings and proposals went so far that whenever Thorin started about it, Dwalin rather retreated from their office and climbed to the roof to have a smoke in peace.

And then, about a month ago... He was standing in a jewellery shop that just got robbed and saw the engagement rings on display, and suddenly it flashed through his mind that they were nothing special, that he should definitely get something better for his Ori. Just like that. He had never given it any thought before, found it a bit weird to be honest and there he was, frozen to the spot, wondering when his subconscious mind decided it was time for the boy to have a ring on his finger that would let the whole wide world know that he belonged to someone.

Ever since then he was thinking about it, wandering through all the jewellery and antique shops in the town before slowly succumbing to the decision that none of the rings they had was good enough for the boy.

And then, in one of those small, hundred-year old antique shops, he found a little treasure - a simple golden ring with delicate pattern adorning its surface. What made it special and different from all the other rings however, were two tiny angels engraved on the inside of the ring.

'To protect one’s beloved...' a familiar voice spoke behind Dwalin’s shoulder and the detective turned around sharply.

Mr. Nori himself was standing there, his grey-streaked hair neatly combed, dark blue suit fitting him perfectly. 'Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,' his piercing eyes left the ring in Dwalin’s hands and met the detective’s. 'It just seemed to me that you were wondering about the meaning of the angels.'

Dwalin was looking at him for a moment before answering, 'I was...'

Nori shifted his weight, nodding his head a little. 'It’s a very remarkable craftsmanship. Late nineteenth century, I’d say. I am... I am here to buy as well, but... would you care to join me for coffee afterwards? I’d like to speak to you.'

...

Sitting in a fancy restaurant with Nori, Dwalin was wondering when was the last time he had ever felt so uneasy. He hasn’t seen anyone from Ori’s family ever since they parted ways at Mr.Dori’s mansion in Blue Mountains all that time ago. Ori told his brothers about Dwalin and was still working with them when they needed him, but other than that, their contact was minimal as they never came to the _Café_ or for visit. Still, if Dwalin could choose which one of the boy’s brothers to accidentally meet in the shop, he would choose Nori, no question about it. Because even though it had been a year since he had seen Mr. Dori, he was uncomfortably certain that any encounter between them would only end with him hitting the jeweller and then being sued in return...

'May I assume you have bought the ring?' Nori asked, straightening cutlery on the table, as if not sure what else to do with his hands.

'Yes, I have,' Dwalin nodded, trying hard not to make it too obvious that he was looking for an ashtray.

'I see,' Nori nodded, his fingers moving to the napkin, shifting it two millimetres to the right and then one millimetre to the left.

Dwalin coughed, 'You said you wanted to speak to me about something?'

Nori straightened up in his chair suddenly, gesturing to the waiter and within a second an ashtray miraculously landed on their table. Both men reached inside their pockets simultaneously and Nori smiled, for the first time looking at Dwalin.

'May I be frank with you?' he asked after he lit his cigarette, tapping it on the edge of the ashtray unwittingly.

The detective nodded, 'Sure.'

'That ring... is it for my brother?'

Dwalin winced. He still wasn’t hundred percent sure if and how he was going to present that ring to the boy and the last thing he wanted was for Nori to rush to Ori and tell him about it.

He knew the boy wanted a real wedding, not necessarily big, but a proper ceremony. He knew even though Ori never told him... And there were times when Dwalin wanted it too, when he wanted to see the look of happiness on Ori’s face, when he wanted to hear his ' _Yes_ '... but then there were days when he kept telling himself that they were happy the way there were, what did they need an official piece of paper for? What would it change?

But the thing was... the days when he wanted it too were more and more common now. He looked at Nori, 'Yeah...'  

The jeweller was studying him for a moment, nodding his head lightly again, 'Then I have a favour to ask.'

'A favour?' the detective asked, surprised.

'I noticed that there is only one ring and... I would like to make a second one, identical. For you.' Two cups of coffee were placed on the table and Nori reached for the sugar, placing one sugar lump after another into his cup.

Dwalin coughed on the smoke, 'For me? What for?'

Nori smiled, 'Do you expect me to allow you to put a ring on my brother while you keep wandering around like a seemingly single man?'

...

The detective ran his fingers over the bigger ring. Had he not known that it was brand new, he would have never guessed that they were not made by the same artisan. Nori was good, he had to admit that, even the little angels inside were flawless...

It was him with whom the detective was on the phone that day Ori had overheard him; Nori wanting to ask about some finishing touches and demanding they met...

Dwalin smiled softly, brushing his fingertips over both rings one last time before closing the little box again gently, for the first time allowing himself to imagine what they will look like on their fingers...

*****

He woke even though it was still early. The sky outside was dark but he could tell that it were only storm clouds through which the first rays of sun couldn’t make their way. The bed felt so nice and warm that for a moment he thought that maybe they could stay at home and not go anywhere. But the fact that they were living above the _Café_ complicated things - sooner or later Ori would sneak down there to bake something. He would probably even open...

Dwalin couldn’t let that happen. These three days Ori was only his and he was not going to share him with anyone, no matter how selfish that sounded. He had been so busy at work lately that were they not living together, they would hardly ever see each other...

Well, not so this weekend. Starting that Friday there were only the two of them in the world; a world consisting of one hotel room; one bed to be more precise. He won’t let Ori out of it, will go back to work on Monday more exhausted than before and will feel damn awesome! Dwalin chuckled, reaching one hand to Ori... only to realize that the boy wasn't sleeping by his side.

He sat up in the bed, running his fingers over the sheets on the left side. Still warm. Ori got up not so long ago then... Usually when Dwalin woke up, Ori was wrapped around him in some way, sleeping till the detective woke him...

Dwalin got up, pulling his shirt and shorts on and went to the kitchen. The radio was on, the volume turned down, the kettle boiling the water silently and there, at the door to the living room, Ori was standing; wrapped in a fleece blanket, humming quietly to the song on the radio.

_... am I being honest, being truthful to myself, can I see my life without you, could I be with someone else..._

The kettle clicked, the water inside it bubbling peacefully and Ori turned around.

_... it seems I've grown attached, though we're not the perfect match..._

As soon as he saw Dwalin, the boy smiled, happiness almost pouring from him and for a moment Dwalin thought he had found the little velvet box... but it was safely hidden in his jacket again... Then why...?

'I didn’t hear you get up,' Ori said, biting his lower lip, still smiling.

'I didn’t hear you get up either,' Dwalin was looking at the boy’s lips, where white teeth were disturbing the soft red skin. An inexplicable urge to kiss the boy filled him and he did so, closing the distance between them and brushing Ori’s lips with his.

'I realized this morning,' the boy beamed at him, withdrawing only to say those words and then pressing their lips together again.

'Realized what?' Dwalin asked.

'That we’re perfect for each other.'

The detective chuckled, raising his eyebrows and pulling Ori closer, 'And how exactly did you figure that out?'

'Look,' the boy said, turning so that he was facing the living room again, leaning his back against Dwalin’s chest. The detective looked around, not really understanding what he was supposed to look at. Everything seemed normal; all things were where they usually were. Except for the peace lily, but that was hardly any clue...

'What do you see?' Ori asked quietly.

Dwalin frowned, trying very hard to notice something out of ordinary but as it was too early in the morning and he was still half asleep, he failed significantly. If this was some kind of a test... He knew Ori cared a lot about their apartment... was some secret message hidden there? Something he was supposed to see? The white furniture was where it always has been, all the shelves carefully dusted, full of things and yet neatly organized. Everything was polished and shining. The curtains were not drawn because neither of them did it last night, the faint morning light pouring in through the spotless windows.

'I don’t see anything,' he admitted in the end, 'just our things.'

Ori turned around in his arms, beaming like Dwalin he had just discovered the meaning of life. 'That’s it... Our things, not mine or yours, ours... You remember the first time you were here? You said this place looked like a model apartment, not real home... And you were right, I didn’t spend too much time here, I barely had anything else but my clothes here, but now...' Ori glanced back into the vast living room and Dwalin copied him. He nearly forgot; the place did look like that in the beginning, only flowers letting anyone know that there was someone living there... And now it was full of things, his, Ori’s, theirs, all mixed together...

'I brought order to your life and you disrupted mine. Because that’s what we both needed back then. And together we made a place that is home, not a cold empty apartment, a real home...,' Ori intertwined their fingers and pressed his lips to Dwalin’s thumb, 'We complete each other...'

Dwalin kissed the top of the boy’s head, keeping his arms around Ori’s waist.

'All right,' he said after a moment, 'I’m gonna ignore the fact that you just called me messy...'

Ori turned quickly, blushing, 'I didn’t mean it like-'

Dwalin silenced him with another kiss, caressing the boy’s cheeks. 'Ori, I...' So many things had changed in the past year. His whole world had changed. With the life he had led before, every day was mere survival but now... Now he was grateful for every breath he took, for every morning he woke up and all because of the fragile boy standing in front of him, wrapped in his arms, looking at him with eyes full of love... full of love for him... Before he met Ori, Dwalin couldn’t imagine his life with anyone. His nights were a long string of loneliness and one night stands. This right here, what he had now... he knew deep down that it could last forever. And no matter how much it made his hands shake with nervousness, he made up his mind the moment he saw the two rings together, and maybe even before that... There was only one thing he could do with those rings, wasn’t there? And he was going to do it properly. 


	3. Read between the lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, in which people meet and part again.......

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 3 - Read between the lines

Dwalin was fuming silently, glaring at the reception desk, where Ori was now filling the guest book, Bofur’s peace lily next to him on the floor. His wonderful, precious three days were slowly but surely going to hell...

It wasn’t enough that they met professor Gandalf right in the parking lot of the hotel, no; now Nori was here too...

And to think that the day started so well... Splendidly, actually. Gloriously. With Ori in his arms, kissing him while smiling, the whole world a perfect place for once...

They cuddled a bit, had a quick breakfast and were on the road within an hour, with the peace lily sitting safely on Ori’s lap.

'Remind me again why we have to take it with us?' the detective grunted.

The boy turned to him, smiling softly, 'Well, we can’t just leave it. You know how Bofur dotes on it; he says it’s the only living thing that hasn’t left him yet. And our apartment is much warmer than his, what if it withered? I can keep an eye on it like this.'

'Uhuh,' Dwalin nodded, spotting a sign with the name of their hotel pointing somewhere into a deep forest, the road there padded with falling leaves. When they got higher the sun managed to make its way through the clouds, giving the autumn colours a warm tinge. 'Why couldn’t he just leave it with Mrs. Jackson like always?'  

'She’s not home, she went on some holiday with chief inspector Gloin...' Ori answered. Dwalin raised an eyebrow; apparently their common love for cats wasn’t the only thing they shared... 'Bofur’s been sorting the mail instead of her (because majority of it is his anyway) and he said that she had sent a postcard to every single tenant in Ered Luin saying that they got engaged.'

Dwalin chuckled, 'I bet there were kittens on each and every one of them.'

Ori giggled, wiping off condensation from his window with his fingers, 'Probably.'

'Speaking of which, who’s taking care of-'

A black car passed them right then with incredible speed, raising a swirl of leaves that completely blocked Dwalin’s view before vanishing up the road again.

The detective hit the brakes. 'Son of a b-' he yelled, swallowing the last word and cursing it in his mind. 'Are you all right?' he turned to Ori.

The boy nodded, gripping the flower pot firmly, 'Someone’s in a hurry...'

The detective grunted, had he not been on holiday, he would have followed that fu... He took a deep calming breath, reminding himself that that was precisely where he was - on holiday. He will not get angry because of some kid who doesn’t know how to drive and who’s bound to get his lesson sooner or later anyway.

'Well, hopefully we won’t see him again,' he muttered, continuing up the hill, only to find a 'dead end ahead' sign ten meters behind the next curve. Which meant that the car was heading for the hotel as well... Brilliant, just brilliant.

... 

And sure as hell, the dark shiny car was the first thing they saw on the parking lot when they arrived. Dwalin frowned, purposely parking his car as far away from it as possible. He didn’t need that maniac to scratch his door or something.

'Don’t be mad,' Ori said softly.

'I’m not mad,' Dwalin grumbled, narrowing his eyes to see the couple inside the car stretching... Aha, coming a long way to harass the local drivers, are we? Well, he’ll see about that. When... Ori’s not around.

'Yes, you are...' Such a calming voice, soothing like silk and breaking through the barrier of rage that surrounded the detective with incredible ease.

Dwalin turned to look at the boy and Ori’s lips were suddenly on his. He tasted sweetly, like one of his cakes...

'We’ll go in our room,' the boy’s hand slipped to the detective’s chest, caressing it gently before kissing him again, 'and stay there the whole three days... they do have a room service here, you know? You won’t have to see them again, so don’t get angry now...'

Dwalin kissed him back, smiling. Ori was pretty good at distracting him at will by now...

The door on the passenger side of the other car opened and familiar voice sounded through the almost empty parking lot.

'I swear, Radagast, this is the last time I’ve ever agreed to get in the car with you. You drive like crazy.' Professor Gandalf, the newest edition to Ered Luin tenants, got out of the car shakily. 'I can't feel my fingers from clutching the seatbelt too tight and I think I’m going to be sick...'

'What?' the driver got out as well, looking confused. He looked roughly the same age as the professor, gray curly hair flying around his head in the soft wind, smaller and chubbier but definitely a merry person. 'You’re overreacting as always, Gandalf. Here, have a cigar, it will calm you down.'

'No, no, thank you, I have had one already and as hard as it may be to believe it, I do like the world in the colours and shapes it already has...' Gandalf muttered, limping to the trunk.

How on earth was it possible that wherever Dwalin went, there was always someone he knew?

'You know,' Ori whispered, looking at the two men as well, 'Bofur said that the professor has so many friends all over the world, that he could make a pretty decent stamp collection. And most of them keep sending him letters on hand-made paper, too.'

'I see that Bofur was the right person to be entrusted with other people's mail,' Dwalin chuckled as they both got out of their car.

'Ah! What a coincidence! Detective inspector Dwalin!' Gandalf called when he noticed them and made his way to them with his suitcase, closely followed by his companion who was sending puffs of white smoke to the sky happily. 'This is the last place I would have expected you to be!'

'Professor,' Dwalin shook his hand, trying hard not to let it show that this was the last place he expected (and hoped not) to find someone he knew.

'This is my old colleague and dear friend, doctor Radagast,' Gandalf smiled, motioning to the small, cheerfully smiling man behind him.

Radagast shook Dwalin’s hand vigorously and turned to Ori.

'This is Ori, my...' the detective hesitated. This was the first time he was introducing the boy to someone (if he wasn’t counting Balin and his wife and his friends and he hardly had to explain his relationship to Ori to them) and suddenly he didn’t know what to say. A boyfriend? A lover? A partner? 'My Ori...'

Ori turned scarlet, shook Radagast’s hand as well and dropped his gaze to the ground. He looked utmost adorable, in his dark blue coat and jeans, with white scarf wrapped around his neck. When he was dressed as casually as this, he always made Dwalin forget that he came from a family of wealthy jewellers. A huge swell of love and pride filled the detective and without even thinking about it, he slid one hand around Ori’s waist.

Gandalf’s gaze roved from one to another, a small smile playing on his lips. 'You’re staying for the long weekend too, I presume?' he asked. 'Good, good. We do as well. I have one more friend coming over but since it’s a lady it would be inappropriate to meet at my place... Well, we shall not hinder you any longer, see you around,' he hesitated, eyes travelling to Dwalin’s hand around Ori’s waist, 'and if not, have a wonderful weekend.'

He winked at them, disappearing up the stairs leading from the parking lot up to the hotel together with Radagast.

Dwalin smiled, turning to Ori and gently nudging him till the boy’s back was pressed against their car. He took the peace lily out of his hands, putting it on the car’s roof, and looked at him. Ori was smiling, his cheeks still pink, partly hidden behind his scarf... He was so beautiful...

'Your Ori,' the boy giggled quietly, pressing one hand to Dwalin’s chest gently. He almost whispered those words, his soft voice making the detective shiver with desire for him. Ori pressed himself closer to him, and standing on tiptoes brushed his lips over Dwalin’s. 'I’m cold...' he breathed quietly.

Dwalin slipped his arms around him, kissing him back deeply, coaxing a moan from the boy’s lips. 'Well then, let’s get you to a warm bed...'

The boy’s hands slid under the detective’s jacket as he returned the kiss with equal passion, finding a place where his undershirt wasn’t tucked into his pants and wandering over the naked skin there tentatively. Dwalin breathed out hard against Ori’s lips, pulling the boy closer.

Another car appeared, parking opposite them smoothly and a tall figure stepped out, the grit crunching under expensive shoes.

'Nori?' Ori asked, taking his hands from Dwalin in his surprise.

His brother turned around, gaze searching the parking lot for a moment before falling on them. He flinched, turning visibly pale as he looked from one to another.

'Well... hello,' he said then, his voice strained. 'What a... nice surprise...' 

*****

'What the hell are you doing here?' Dwalin growled, quietly enough so that Ori standing at the reception desk wouldn’t hear him.

'What, I’m not allowed to get out of town for the weekend?' Nori retorted equally quietly, standing beside the detective and pretending to be studying the brochures.

Ori looked at them from where he was filling the guest book and they both smiled back at him simultaneously.

'Of course, but you’re not allowed to spy on us or visit Ori with questions that are making him uncomfortable.'

Nori froze for a moment, staring at an old wooden bridge on one of the pictures. _The Lonely Hearts Rainbow Bridge - toss a coin in the river while thinking about your true love and you’ll be together forever!_

For heaven’s sake...  

'He told you that?'

'Of course he told me that.'

'Well, excuse me for wanting to make sure that my brother’s happy with you.'

They looked at each other and if looks could kill, they would have at that moment. But then Nori’s expression softened and he returned to his brochure. 'I’m sorry about that. But if it makes you feel any better, he was very adamant that he loves you and couldn’t be happier...'

Dwalin couldn’t help himself and smiled, his eyes finding Ori immediately.

'You didn’t tell him about the rings?'

'Of course not.'

'Then why are you here?'

The jeweller didn’t answer immediately. He took a deep, almost inaudible breath, looking at the bridge steadily, and then said, 'I’m here because I wanted some peace and quiet to think some things through; me being here has absolutely nothing to do with Ori and you. I didn’t even know you two will be here...'

Dwalin glanced at him, remembering the postcard from Nori’s wife... _I wanted some peace and quiet to think things through_... Were they really having some trouble at home? Could Nori possibly be here to think about divorce...?

A movement behind the reception desk caught his attention and the detective turned to look at the man standing there again. He was almost as tall as him, with broad shoulders and pale skin. Blonde hair neatly combed under a black beret that matched his pitch black sweater.

'He has disturbingly symmetrical eyebrows...' Nori said, glancing at the man as well.

'It’s plucked,' Dwalin muttered.

'Ah, well, some men do take rather excessive care of themselves...'

'Uhuh, one group especially,' the detective hissed, marching over to the reception where the tall blonde man just leaned over the desk, batting his eyelashes at Ori. Dwalin placed one arm around the boy’s shoulders, glaring at the man in front of him.

Ori looked up, surprised and as always painfully unobservant to the fact that someone was just flirting with him. He beamed at the detective, 'Dwalin, this is Mr. Celeborn, the owner of the hotel.'

The blonde man straightened up, smiling so widely that Dwalin got a strange urge to count his perfectly white teeth. Celeborn held out his hand, 'Oh, please, just call me 'Cee'.'

Dwalin shook his hand, making sure he squeezed it real hard. 'Pleasure.'

Cee winced a little and pulled his hand away from the detective, that smile of his never leaving his face however. 'I’ve got you at the top floor, with a lovely view at the lake. And you’re right in time for lunch, too! The dining hall is right down this corridor, if you’d prefer to eat first.' He looked at Ori who was just taking the peace lily from the floor.

'I love lilies,' he mused, his gaze sliding up and down the boy, 'they are so pure and tender... so innocent...'

'Usually with someone taking good care of them already, and quite capable of killing should something happen to them,' Dwalin said through gritted teeth, pulling Ori closer again. 'The elevator?'

Cee took his eyes from the boy and for the first time his smile disappeared, 'The... the elevator? I’m afraid we don’t have any... there’s just the staircase.'

Dwalin glanced up the indicated stairs coated with soft violet carpet. Brilliant, and they were at the top floor... He grabbed their suitcase and steered Ori in that direction as quickly as he could without it looking too obvious.

'T-thank you!' Ori called over his shoulder at the owner who was now passing a pen to Nori.

'Anytime, precious!' Cee called after them.

Dwalin gripped the handle of their suitcase firmly, thinking that it wouldn’t be the best start of their holiday if he turned around and hit the guy, so he kept climbing the staircase instead.

'What song do you have for the owner?' he asked the boy. He found out, quite a long time ago, that Ori was a pretty good judge of character. It wasn’t so much a conscious judgement on his side, more like intuition. He looked at someone and a song started to play in his mind, describing the person fairly well.

'Well...' Ori muttered and even though Dwalin was walking behind him, he could still see the tips of his ears turning pink.

'I won’t tell, I promise,' the detective chuckled.

The boy took four more steps before turning to the detective, his gaze glued to the carpet, ' _I feel pretty_... you know how it goes - I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and...'

'Gay,' Dwalin finished. The word had a different meaning in the original song, but Mr. Cee met the contemporary meaning as well...

'You know,' Ori mused as they finally reached the third floor, 'I didn’t mean it literally when I said Bofur loved the plant. I mean... surely he would be upset if it withered but I don’t think he would hurt me because of that...'

The detective stopped mid-step, staring at the boy. Not only was he completely unobservant, he was unable to read between the lines as well...  


	4. A black fly in your Chardonnay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4, in which dragon cries, people keep secrets and someone hides in the darkness.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 4 - A black fly in your Chardonnay

'Ori, look at this.'

The boy moved towards his brother, taking Dwalin with him because their fingers were intertwined. The others naturally followed because there was obviously nothing better to do while waiting for a table to be set for them.

They reached Nori in front of a glass case where two spot lights were illuminating a little golden statue of a dragon.

'Wow,' Dwalin raised his eyebrow. 'How much would it be worth if it was pure gold?'

Ori unglued himself from the glass and looked at him with awe in his eyes, 'It is pure gold.'

'What? You’re saying it’s real?' Dwalin bent closer as well, interested all of a sudden.

'Look at the cutting of the stones...' Nori breathed out.

'Not a single flaw, that’s amazing...' Ori whispered, just as fascinated.

The dragon was standing on its hind legs, one front paw outstretched as if trying to reach something above it. Its whole body was covered in tiny red gems, its eyes deeply blue and looking disturbingly alive. What got Dwalin most however, was the dragon’s expression. It looked like it was in despair, deep sorrow written across its face; there were small white pearls coming from its eyes, appearing all the way down its neck and stopping on its chest where a heart would be. Small pearls representing tears...

'Andy, what do you think?' Nori turned to a man standing beside Dwalin.

Apparently the hotel was designed for people to accidentally meet their acquaintances. Mr. Andy Sméagol, skinny and nervous chap with a mane of curly gray hair was a jeweller as well, his main priority being rings ('Not the delicate ones Nori can make, no, I prefer big things. Big gems, big rings, big decorations, you see...' With a side look at his wife, Dwalin saw indeed.). He and Nori met almost every year on some of the world’s biggest jewels exhibitions.

'It looks like the one we saw in Rome, remember? Seven, eight years ago?'

'Eight,' Mr. Sméagol muttered, putting on thick glasses that magnified his eyes ten times and leaning closer to the case as well. 'They are extraordinarily similar... Though the one in Rome had scales of red spinel and this, if I’m not mistaken, are Bohemian rubies...'

'They are,' Ori nodded, his eyes sparkling as always when he saw something of particularly good craftsmanship.

'I always regretted that I didn’t get a proper look at it...' Nori murmured, walking around the glass case to have a look from each side.

A loud sneeze sounded behind Dwalin and the detective turned to look at Mrs. Sméagol. She was running a pretty flower-adorned handkerchief under her pink nose, smiling at Dwalin apologetically.

'Oh, the allergies, they’re always worse when I’m in the country. It really was a mistake to come here, my husband had warned me that there will be lots of flowers and bushes and dust here but...' she sneezed again, 'I simply had to come. I’ve heard so many stories about the famous Rainbow bridge...'

She opened her handbag, a herculean effort for someone of her build, and her chubby fingers started to dive between various bottles with pills till she found the right one, putting a little white pill in her mouth. It flashed through Dwalin’s mind that she had a pretty mouth, her lips deeply red even though there was no lipstick on them. Dark brown curls were cascading to her shoulders, partly hiding a tiny golden necklace whose pendant was lost in the cleavage of her bosom. 'It’s awful for me to say so,' she went on, 'but I’m looking forward to be back in the town again. Everything is so much cleaner and sterile there...'

Well, that could be argued, Dwalin thought as he smiled sympathetically, patting his pockets for a pack of cigarettes but finding none. Dammit. He had a whole carton hidden in the trunk upstairs, because something was telling him that he might need them here, and now he knew why...

Nori caught up with them earlier when they finally reached their floor and while toying with keys to his room suggested that perhaps they could dine together that evening and have a glass of champagne to celebrate Ori’s birthday.

'But my birthday’s tomorrow,' the boy said, surprised.

'I know, but... well, I thought that...' Nori glanced at Dwalin, 'the two of you might have other plans for tomorrow... Want to perhaps spend the day together...'

Dwalin looked at Ori, at his shining eyes. He knew there was no way the boy would pass a chance to spend some time with his brother without being unhappy... and he also knew there was no way he could deny him that. Deny him anything as a matter of fact. Well, he could survive dinner with Nori, it would still leave him the night and the next two days alone with the boy.

'That’s a great idea,' he said, turning to the boy and trying hard to make it sound like he meant it honestly. 'We could celebrate a little bit ahead, right?'

Ori looked at him, studying him for a moment before smiling and reaching for his hand on impulse, 'I’d like to go too, but... only for the dinner, I’m really tired...'

The detective chuckled; there has never been a worse liar than his Ori.

'All right, then it’s settled, I’ll see yo-'

The door by which they were standing opened suddenly and the Sméagols appeared, looking first surprised and then fairly happy when they noticed Nori. And as the jeweller was being hugged by the couple, the detective seized the momentary distraction, and with quick 'At six then!' sneaked into their room together with the boy before anyone got any chance to introduce them.

...

The room looked pretty good, Dwalin had to admit that. He had expected something way worse given that the hotel was basically in the middle of nowhere. Everything was done in soft beige and white colours, fancy armchairs in almost every corner; there was even a vase full of pink roses on one of the small tables...

A portrait of a pretty woman in white dress, probably from the nineteenth century, was above the fake mantelpiece. She looked somehow familiar and Dwalin wondered whether she was one of those hundreds of writers, painters or queens whose names he was forced to remember at school... Probably...

He reached the window where Ori was placing the peace lily on a little table while looking out. He slipped arms around his waist, hugging him and resting his chin on the boy’s shoulder.

The boy beamed at him, 'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Right in front of their window the whole lake was spreading, the small waves shimmering in the sunlight, the trees adorning its banks displaying all the fall colours known to the mankind.

A couple his age was just making their way up a little path probably connecting the hotel with the lake. A blonde woman holding hands with a slender brown-haired man. She seemed to be telling him something happily while he listened with a small smile, holding her when she almost tripped over a stone...

Dwalin shifted his head a little, pressing his lips to Ori’s neck gently. The boy shivered, leaning to his touch and moaning softly...

'Thank you,' he whispered.

'For what?' the detective’s hands pulled down Ori’s coat, lips caressing the soft skin on his throat.

'For...' the boy breathed out hard, one hand reaching to the window frame and gripping it tightly, 'for agreeing to have the dinner... I know... you do it for me...'

The way the boy was panting was most arousing and Dwalin allowed his hands to slide lower, brushing gently over Ori’s length. He smiled. He had only been kissing his neck and already the boy was this hard.

'And you want to make it short,' he kissed Ori’s ear, feeling his own hot breath on his lips, 'for me...' He unzipped the boy’s trousers, slipping one hand in and wrapping it around his hardness, fondling it gently.

Ori let go of the window, his hands coming to the the detective’s, clutching them.

'Dwalin...' he panted.

'Yes?'

'Stop... teasing...' the boy tilted his head, resting it on the detective’s shoulder, his whole body shivering deliciously under Dwalin’s touch.

'Would you rather I stopped?' the detective took his hand off him with a smile and Ori whimpered.

'N-no... I just...' the boy reached for his hand, putting it back where it was and purring with pleasure when Dwalin’s fingers wrapped around him once again. 'Won’t you...?' he tucked at the detective’s shirt, trying to pull it out of his pants, but Dwalin tightened his grip around him just a tiny bit and Ori’s hands flew to his mouth, stifling a loud moan.

The detective smiled. Sometimes he wanted just this, the boy naked in his arms, panting and shivering with desire, on the brink of coming at any moment... Speaking of which... He used his free hand and pulled the jumper and shirt over Ori’s head, dropping it on the floor. The boy’s hands returned to his mouth almost instantly. He was always trying so hard to be quiet... and yet failed every single time in the end, crying out Dwalin’s name, demanding he moved faster or deeper... Ori’s pants and underwear fell to the floor too, leaving the boy completely naked.

Dwalin glanced in front of him, making sure that the balcony was blocking the view of their room and nobody could see them from the path, and while doing so caught Ori’s reflection on the glass. His heart started to pound frantically. There was something strangely exhilarating about the vision; him fully dressed, caressing the naked boy and Ori leaning against him, his face flushed, his tiny chest heaving... The boy’s legs started to give up beneath him and Dwalin reached down, picking him in his arms, kissing him and walking towards the bed.

He just noted that the bed was harder than the one they had at home before his eyes locked with the boy’s. Damp hair was plastered to Ori’s forehead and Dwalin ran his fingers through it before stroking his cheek. He loved the way the boy was looking at him at these moments, feeling all uneasy about being the only one undressed in the room and yet anxious for Dwalin to touch him again.

Ori was watching him, lying among soft beige pillows, breathing heavily and then he moved one leg to the left a bit, offering the detective a fairly breathtaking view. Dwalin smiled, lowering himself and brushing his tongue over the tip of Ori’s hardness. The boy moaned, arching his back and immediately trying to return his leg to where it was but Dwalin held it firmly. He ran his tongue all the way down his length and then painfully slowly back up again. He could feel the boy wriggle beneath him, panting more loudly now.

It was bloody difficult to hold back like this, not to strip own clothes and invade the boy’s body fully but first he wanted to see him like this, slowly getting lost in ecstasy. He wrapped his lips around the boy’s hardness, holding his hips in place with one hand and caressing his belly with the other, letting his tongue wander all over the sensitive skin.

'Dwalin...' the boy whispered, hoarsely and the detective raised his eyes to him, realizing that Ori had probably said his name a few times before he heard him, 'I’m gonna...' Dwalin smiled. Come? Ori never used that word, never. He counted on Dwalin’s understanding; when he said those words the detective always stopped caressing him with his mouth and brought him over the edge with his hand while kissing him but today...  

He returned his lips where they were, feeling the boy’s hardness twitching and pulsing under his tongue. He heard Ori moaning his name one more time, all sorts of emotions mingling in it - shock, worry, delight, expectation, excitement...

Dwalin sucked a bit harder and heard Ori cry out, felt him come in his mouth, hot and sticky; unfamiliar yet wonderful taste overwhelming him at once. The boy’s body was shivering and he felt him come one more time. Glancing up he saw the sheets fell out of Ori’s hands, his knuckles all white from holding them too tight. There were tiny tears in the corners of his eyes and Dwalin brushed them away with his thumb.

'Are you all right?' he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Ori’s lips.

The boy’s hands wrapped around him, holding him tightly, shivers still running through his body. And then Dwalin felt him nod once before Ori’s lips pressed to his ear, 'Take me, Dwalin... please, take me right now...'  

The detective chuckled. Well, like he said, he could not deny the boy anything.

*****

'The table is ready! Ah, I see you have found my dragon! It’s truly a wondrous sight, isn’t it?' Cee joined them by the glass case, smiling widely as usual.

'It is,' Nori agreed, 'Mr.Celeborn, may I ask where you bought it?'

'It... was a gift,' the blonde man’s expression went serious for a fleeting second before he smiled again, 'And please, it’s Cee.'

'Is the glass breakable?' Dwalin asked, studying it for a second, before adding, 'Mr. Celeborn?'

'Why, it’s... glass...' the owner looked at him as though the answer should be obvious.

'I see... well, don’t you think it’s rather incautious to leave such a valuable object practically unprotected?' the detective went on. Though why he cared was beyond him, the hotel was out of his division, should the dragon get stolen it wouldn’t be any of his business. Thank god.

'Oh, who would want to steal it? It’s pretty, of course, but it’s merely a fake...' Cee was looking honestly confused by now, almost as if the detective was the first person ever to ask him this question.

'Mr. Cee, I can assure that this is certainly no fake,' Nori said, 'and I agree with detective here - it is surely unwise to leave it here where anyone may take it when, as you have just said, the glass is no barrier at all...'

'The... the...' Cee stuttered, his gaze shifting from Nori to Ori, and then stopping on Sméagol. 'The... real... gold?'

'We should go, the food will get cold,' Mrs. Sméagol noted, obviously following her own train of thought, and as if only now remembering why they came in the first place, all of them made their way to their table; all of them except for the owner, who was still gaping at his dragon...

*****

'What a lovely evening we have, hm?' Gandalf leaned against the balustrade on the terrace next to Dwalin, smoking his pipe with a smile of a man who knows more than he lets to be known.

'It is, indeed,' the detective nodded, hoping that the professor didn’t somehow read from his face that he was just thinking about what it would be like to make love to Ori on their balcony. He took a drag. Fantastic, that’s what it would be like, with only stars above them... Perhaps if they were real quiet...

'Your Ori is really devoted to the art of jewellers, isn’t he?' Gandalf noted and they both looked inside through the glass door. The boy was glued to the glass case again...

'It runs in the family...' Dwalin muttered as Nori appeared from beneath the case. What he was looking at down there, the detective didn’t want to know.

'Apparently,' the professor chuckled. Dwalin didn't complain, Ori's obsessing over the dragon at least gave him enough time to fetch the cigarettes from their room and have a little after-dinner smoke with Gandalf. 

The door to the terrace opened again and the couple Dwalin had seen before on the little path and that had then been dining with Gandalf and Radagast joined them. The man lit a cigarette while the woman was leaning against him softly.

'Ah, Dwalin, let me introduce Éowyn, she was my student and one of the brightest I must say,' Gandalf puffed on his pipe.

The blonde woman giggled, 'Why, always such a sweet talker.' She turned to Dwalin and shook his hand. She was pretty. Not the kind you’d find on the magazines pretty, no, there was nothing fake about her. She was pretty in a natural way, with soft wrinkles around her eyes from laughter. She looked kind too, full of life, the pale cheeks she had during the dinner now flushed. Dwalin found that he couldn’t take his eyes off her when she smiled. There was something about her that forced one to protect her and yet it was more than obvious that she could take good care of herself.

'And her husband, Faramir,' Gandalf nodded and the brown-haired man shook Dwalin’s hand as well. Dwalin considered them for a while. Where Éowyn seemed to burst with life, Faramir was serene and calm...

'Detective inspector Dwalin used to live in Ered Luin, too,' Gandalf turned to Éowyn, whose eyes got a bit wider as she nodded.

'You know it there?' the detective raised an eyebrow. He had never seen her there before, of that he was sure; he would remember a woman like that.

'I know Mrs. Jackson,' she replied, 'I’ve sent her a letter too, that I’ll be around... but I don’t think she got it...'

'Well, if you’ve sent it recently then she definitely didn’t, she’s on holiday,' Dwalin finished his cigarette, his eyes searching for Ori. Both Nori and he were in deep conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Sméagol now.

'Oh,' Éowyn smiled, 'that’s why...' It seemed to Dwalin that a relief could be heard in her voice and he fixed his gaze on her. She seemed less tense somehow, which was odd because she didn’t seem tense before in the first place. Her eyes met his and she smiled wider, 'I was wondering why she didn’t reply, you know, because we were really close... I though maybe she was mad at me for... something. But if she’s on holiday then I’m sure she doesn’t even know that I’m here.'

Dwalin wondered how could someone become real close with the housekeeper. Unless, of course, that person was a heavy smoker obsessed with cats and soap operas... But Éowyn didn’t strike him as any of that.

'How do you like it here, inspector?' Faramir asked, his voice just as calm as his demeanour.

'It’s a really nice place,' Dwalin said, 'I must admit I’m rather glad it’s almost empty, seems more peaceful that way... How about you?'

'Well,' Faramir hesitated, looking at the smoke ascending from his cigarette, 'I like it much better now that someone from police is staying here...'

Dwalin looked at him sharply, 'What do you mean?'

The man was looking at the ground for a moment before looking the detective straight in the eyes, 'This may sound strange, and I have already been informed that I am making things up,' he glanced at his wife for a second, smiling gently, 'but let me assure you, inspector, that I am a very organized man. Things in my life have a certain order that I like and follow, with no exception.'

The detective nodded for him to continue.

'Well, we arrived yesterday in the evening and I went and put my wallet on the little table beside the door in our room, as I always do at home as well and I locked the door. We didn’t leave the room at all till this morning. When I woke up Éowyn wasn’t there, she often wakes up before me and there was a note on my bedside table saying that she went for a walk. So I got dressed for breakfast and then noticed that my wallet was gone. But I didn’t think too much of it, I though my wife had surely taken it with her, so I went out and found her by the swimming pool behind the hotel. She said she didn’t take the wallet and that it was probably somewhere in the room, so naturally we rushed back because I keep all my money and cards there. And when we got back, the wallet was on the table by the door...

Now I know what it looks like, but I could swear that it wasn’t there when I left the room. In fact, I am hundred percent sure that it wasn’t...'

'Was something missing?' Dwalin asked, frowning.

'No, absolutely nothing,' Faramir shook his head.

'I’m sure you just didn’t notice it lying there,' Éowyn smiled at him, 'you do tend to be fairly sleepy till you have your first coffee...' She ran her fingers over his cheek lightly and he pressed a kiss to them.

'And now you’ll say I’m making that stalker up too, right?'

The blond woman hesitated before shooting a nervous glance at the forest, 'Well...'

'A stalker?' Dwalin and professor Gandalf said at the same time. The detective took out one more cigarette from the packet. Things were starting to get real weird; maybe he should grab Ori and lock them safely in their room before something more serious happened.

'It’s not... I’m not sure that it’s even...,' Éowyn clutched Faramir’s hand firmly, 'well, I saw someone in the forest last night, right in front of the hotel where the tree line starts. We have our room facing that way and... well, there was someone there, hidden in the shadows, looking at the hotel...'

'Wasn’t it perhaps Mr. Celeborn doing some-' Dwalin hesitated, out of ideas for what the owner might have been doing in the forest at night. The guy was probably even afraid of darkness...

'No, this one wasn’t so tall. When he noticed me he went back to the forest. Oh my, I get goose bumps just thinking about it... And I’m not making this up, Faramir saw him today as well, right?'

She turned to her husband, who nodded a bit, 'We were walking to the lake and there was someone in the forest, going in the direction of the hotel... Though admittedly it could have been someone working here, coming from that little village down there, but then I would presume he would take the path we were taking and not scramble through the forest...'

Éowyn shivered, 'Oh, let’s talk about something else, shall we? I’ve heard there’s some celebrity staying in the hotel. Is it true, Cee?' She turned to the owner who had just entered the terrace, shooting nervous glances back to the glass case every two seconds. Dwalin snorted, he wouldn’t be surprised if the owner spent the night wrapped around it.  

'Oh, it is! But I promised not to tell any names and my lips are sealed! You wouldn’t believe how many secrets I have hidden here,' he tapped his finger against his temple.  

Dwalin looked at him, wondering what kinds of secrets the man was holding and suddenly being very sure that they were nothing good...   

'Ori, look at this.'

The boy moved towards his brother, taking Dwalin with him because their fingers were intertwined. The others naturally followed because there was obviously nothing better to do while waiting for a table to be set for them.

They reached Nori in front of a glass case where two spot lights were illuminating a little golden statue of a dragon.

'Wow,' Dwalin raised his eyebrow. 'How much would it be worth if it was pure gold?'

Ori unglued himself from the glass and looked at him with awe in his eyes, 'It is pure gold.'

'What? You’re saying it’s real?' Dwalin bent closer as well, interested all of a sudden.

'Look at the cutting of the stones...' Nori breathed out.

'Not a single flaw, that’s amazing...' Ori whispered, just as fascinated.

The dragon was standing on its hind legs, one front paw outstretched as if trying to reach something above it. Its whole body was covered in tiny red gems, its eyes deeply blue and looking disturbingly alive. What got Dwalin most however, was the dragon’s expression. It looked like it was in despair, deep sorrow written across its face; small white pearls were coming from its eyes, appearing all the way down its neck and stopping on its chest where a heart would be. Small pearls representing tears...

'Andy, what do you think?' Nori turned to a man standing beside Dwalin.

Apparently the hotel was designed for people to accidentally meet their acquaintances. Mr. Andy Smeagol, skinny and nervous chap with a mane of curly gray hair was a jeweller as well, his main priority being rings ('Not the delicate ones Nori can make, no, I prefer big things. Big gems, big rings, big decorations, you see...' With a side look at his wife, Dwalin saw indeed.). He and Nori met almost every year on some of the world’s biggest jewels exhibitions.

'It looks like the one we saw in Rome, remember? Seven, eight years ago?'

'Eight,' Mr. Smeagol muttered, putting on thick glasses that magnified his eyes ten times and leaning closer to the case as well. 'They are extraordinarily similar... Though the one in Rome had scales of red spinel and this, if I’m not mistaken, are Bohemian rubies...'

'They are,' Ori nodded, his eyes sparkling as always when he saw something of particularly good craftsmanship.

'I always regretted that I didn’t get a proper look at it...' Nori murmured, walking around the glass case to have a look from each side.

A loud sneeze sounded behind Dwalin and the detective turned to look at Mrs. Smeagol. She was running a pretty flower-adorned handkerchief under her pink nose, smiling at Dwalin apologetically.

'Oh, the allergies, they’re always worse when I’m in the country. It really was a mistake to come here, my husband had warned me that there will be lots of flowers and bushes and dust here but...' she sneezed again, 'I simply had to come. I’ve heard so many stories about the famous Rainbow bridge...'

She opened her handbag, a herculean effort for someone of her build, and her chubby fingers started to dive between various bottles with pills till she found the right one, putting a little white pill in her mouth. It flashed through Dwalin’s mind that she had a pretty mouth, her lips deeply red even though there was no lipstick on them. Dark brown curls were cascading to her shoulders, partly hiding a tiny golden necklace whose pendant was lost in the cleavage of her bosom. 'It’s awful for me to say so,' she went on, 'but I’m looking forward to be back in the town again. Everything is so much cleaner and sterile there...'

Well, that could be argued, Dwalin thought as he smiled sympathetically, patting his pockets for a pack of cigarettes. He had a whole carton hidden in the trunk upstairs, because something was telling him that he might need them here, and now he knew why...

Nori caught up with them earlier when they finally reached their floor and while toying with keys to his room suggested that perhaps they could dine together that evening and have a glass of champagne to celebrate Ori’s birthday.

'But my birthday’s tomorrow,' the boy said, surprised.

'I know, but... well, I thought that...' Nori glanced at Dwalin, 'the two of you might have other plans for tomorrow... Want to perhaps spend the day together...'

Dwalin looked at Ori, at his shining eyes. He knew there was no way the boy would pass a chance to spend some time with his brother without being unhappy... and he also knew there was no way he could deny him that. Deny him anything as a matter of fact. Well, he could survive dinner with Nori, it would still leave him the night and next two days alone with the boy.

'That’s a great idea,' he said, turning to he boy and trying hard to make it sound like it was truth. 'We could celebrate a little bit ahead, right?'

Ori looked at him, studying him for a moment before smiling and reaching for his hand on impulse, 'I’d like to go too, but... only for the dinner, I’m really tired...'

The detective chuckled; there has never been a worse liar than his Ori.

'All right, then it’s settled, I’ll see y-'

The door by which they were standing opened suddenly and the Smeagols appeared, looking first surprised and then fairly happy when they noticed Nori. And as the jeweller was being hugged by the couple, the detective seized the momentary distraction and with quick 'At six then!' sneaked into their room together with the boy before anyone got any chance to introduce them.

...

The room looked pretty good, Dwalin had to admit that. He had expected something way worse given that the hotel was basically in the middle of nowhere. Everything was done in soft beige and white colours, fancy armchairs in almost every corner; there was even a vase full of pink roses on one of the small tables...

A portrait of a pretty woman in white dress, probably from the nineteenth century, was above the fake mantelpiece. She looked somehow familiar and Dwalin wondered whether she was one of those hundreds of writers, painters or queens whose names he was forced to remember at school... Probably...

He reached the window where Ori was standing, looking out while placing the peace lily on the little table there. He slipped arms around his waist, hugging him and resting his chin on the boy’s shoulder. Right in front of their window the whole lake was spreading, the small waves shimmering in the sunlight, the trees adorning its banks displaying all the fall colours known to the mankind.

A couple his age was just making their way up the little path obviously connecting the hotel with the lake. A blonde woman holding hands with a slender brown-haired man. She seemed to be telling him something happily while he listened with a small smile, holding her when she almost tripped over a stone...

Dwalin shifted his head a little, pressing his lips to Ori’s neck gently. The boy shivered, leaning to his touch and moaning softly...

'Thank you,' he whispered.

'For what?' the detective’s hands pulled down Ori’s coat, lips caressing the soft skin on his throat.

'For...' the boy breathed out hard, one hand reaching to the window frame and gripping it tightly, 'for agreeing to come for the dinner... I know... you do it for me...'

The way the boy was panting was most arousing and Dwalin allowed his hands to slide lower, brushing gently over Ori’s length. He smiled. He had only been kissing his neck and already the boy was this hard.

'And you want to make it short,' he kissed Ori’s ear, feeling his own hot breath on his lips, 'for me...' He unzipped the boy’s trousers, slipping one hand in and wrapping it around his hardness, fondling it gently.

Ori let go of the window, his hands coming to rest on the detective’s as he clutched them.

'Dwalin...' he panted.

'Yes?'

'Stop... teasing...' the boy tilted his head, resting it on the detective’s shoulder, his whole body shivering deliciously under Dwalin’s touch.

'Would you rather I stopped?' the detective took his hand off him with a smile and Ori whimpered.

'N-no... just...' the boy reached for his hand, putting it back where it was and purring with pleasure when Dwalin’s fingers wrapped around him once again. 'Won’t you...?' he tucked at the detective’s shirt, trying to pull it out of his pants, but Dwalin tightened his grip around him just a tiny bit and Ori’s hands flew to his mouth, stifling a loud moan.

The detective smiled. Sometimes he wanted just this, the boy naked in his arms, panting and shivering with desire, on the brink of coming at any moment... Speaking of which... He used his free hand and pulled the jumper and shirt over Ori’s head, dropping it on the floor. The boy’s hands returned to his mouth almost instantly. He was always trying so hard to be quiet... and yet failed every single time in the end, crying out Dwalin’s name, demanding he moved faster or deeper... Ori’s pants and underwear fell to the floor as well, leaving the boy completely naked.

Dwalin glanced in front of him, making sure that the balcony blocked the view of their room and nobody could see them from the path, and while doing so caught Ori’s reflection on the glass. His heart started to pound frantically. There was something strangely exhilarating about the vision; him fully dressed, caressing the naked boy and Ori leaning against him, his face flushed, his tiny chest heaving... The boy’s legs started to give up beneath him and Dwalin reached down, picking him in his arms, kissing him and walking towards the bed.

He just noted that the bed was harder than the one they had at home before his eyes locked with the boy’s. Damp hair was plastered to Ori’s forehead and Dwalin ran his fingers through it before stroking his cheek. He loved the way the boy was looking at him, feeling all uneasy about being the only one undressed in the room and yet anxious for Dwalin to touch him again.

Ori was watching him, lying among soft beige pillows, breathing heavily and then he moved one leg to the left a bit, offering the detective a fairly breathtaking view. Dwalin smiled, lowering himself and brushing his tongue over the tip of Ori’s hardness. The boy moaned, arching his back and immediately trying to return his leg to where it was but Dwalin held it firmly. He ran his tongue all the way down his length and then painfully slowly back up again. He could feel the boy wriggle beneath him, panting more loudly now.

It was bloody difficult to hold back like this, not to strip own clothes and invade the boy’s body fully but first he wanted to see him like this, slowly getting lost in ecstasy. He wrapped his lips around the boy’s hardness, holding his hips firmly in place with one hand and caressing his belly with the other, letting his own tongue to wonder all over the sensitive skin.

'Dwalin...' the boy whispered, hoarsely and the detective raised his eyes to him, realizing that Ori had probably said his name a few times before he heard him, 'I’m gonna...' Dwalin smiled. Come? Ori never used that word, never. He counted on Dwalin’s understanding; when he said those words the detective always stopped caressing him with his mouth and brought him over the edge with his hand while kissing him but today...  

He returned his lips where they were, feeling the boy’s hardness twitching and pulsing under his tongue. He heard Ori uttering his name one more time, all sorts of emotions mingling in it - shock, worry, delight, expectation, excitement...

Dwalin sucked a bit harder and heard Ori cry out, felt him come in his mouth, hot and sticky; unfamiliar yet wonderful taste overwhelming him at once. The boy’s body was shivering and he felt him come one more time. Glancing up he saw the sheets fell out of Ori’s hands, his knuckles all white from holding them too tight. There were tiny tears in the corners of his eyes and Dwalin brushed them away with his thumb.

'Are you all right?' he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Ori’s lips.

The boy’s hands wrapped around him, holding him tightly, shivers still running through his body. And then Dwalin felt him nod once before Ori’s lips pressed to his ear, 'Take me, Dwalin... please, take me right now...'  

The detective chuckled. Well, like he said, he could not deny the boy anything.

*****

'The table is ready! Ah, I see you found my dragon! It’s truly a wondrous sight, isn’t it?' Cee joined them by the glass case, smiling widely as usual.

'It is,' Nori agreed, 'Mr.Celeborn, may I ask where you bought it?'

'It... was a gift,' the blonde man’s expression went serious for a fleeting second before he smiled again, 'And please, it’s Cee.'

'Is the glass breakable?' Dwalin asked, studying it for a second, before adding, 'Mr. Celeborn?'

'Why, it’s glass...' the owner looked at him as though the answer should be obvious.

'I see... well, don’t you think it’s rather incautious to leave such a valuable object practically unprotected?' the detective went on. Though why he cared was beyond him, the hotel was out of his division, should the dragon get stolen it wouldn’t be any of his business. Thank god.

'Oh, who would want to steal it? It’s pretty, of course, but it’s merely a fake...' Cee was looking honestly confused by now, almost as if the detective was the first person ever to ask him this question.

'Mr. Cee, I can assure that this is certainly no fake,' Nori said, 'and I agree with detective here - it is surely unwise to leave it here where anyone may take it when, as you have just said, the glass is no barrier at all...'

'The... the...' Cee stuttered, his gaze shifting from Nori to Ori, and then stopping on Smeagol. 'The... real... gold?'

'We should go, the food will get cold,' Mrs. Smeagol noted and as if only now remembering why they came in the first place, all of them made their way to their table; all of them except for the owner, who was still gaping at his dragon...

*****

'What a lovely evening we have, hm?' Gandalf leaned against the balustrade on the terrace next to Dwalin, smoking his pipe with a smile of a man who knows more than he lets to be known.

'It is, indeed,' the detective nodded, hoping that the professor didn’t somehow read from his face that he was just thinking about what it would be like to make love to Ori on their balcony. He took a drag. Fantastic, that’s what it would be like, with only stars above them... Perhaps if they were real quiet...

'Your Ori is really devoted to the art of jewellers, isn’t he?' Gandalf noted and they both looked inside through the glass door. The boy was glued to the glass case again...

'It runs in the family...' Dwalin muttered as Nori appeared from beneath the case. What he was looking at down there, the detective didn’t want to know.

'Apparently,' the professor chuckled.

The door to the terrace opened again and the couple Dwalin had seen before on the little path and that had then been dining with Gandalf and Radagast joined them. The man lit a cigarette while the woman was leaning against him softly.

'Ah, Dwalin, let me introduce Éowyn, she was my student and one of the brightest I must say,' Gandalf puffed on his pipe.

The blonde woman giggled, 'Why, always such a sweet talker.' She turned to Dwalin and shook his hand. She was pretty. Not the kind you’d find on the magazines pretty, no, there was nothing fake about her. She was pretty in a natural way, with soft wrinkles around her eyes from laughter. She looked kind too, full of life, the pale cheeks she had during the dinner now flushed. Dwalin found that he couldn’t take his eyes off her when she smiled. There was something about her that forced one to protect her and yet it was more than obvious that she could take good care of herself.

'And her husband, Faramir,' Gandalf nodded and the brown-haired man shook Dwalin’s hand as well. Dwalin considered them for a while. Where Éowyn seemed to burst with life, Faramir was serene and calm...

'Detective inspector Dwalin used to live in Ered Luin, too,' Gandalf turned to Éowyn, whose eyes got a bit wider as she nodded.

'You know it there?' the detective raised an eyebrow. He had never seen her there before, of that he was sure; he would remember a woman like that.

'I know Mrs. Jackson,' she replied, 'I’ve sent her a letter too, that I’ll be around... but I don’t think she got it...'

'Well, if you’ve sent it recently then she definitely didn’t, she’s on holiday,' Dwalin finished his cigarette, his eyes searching for Ori. Both Nori and he were in deep conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Smeagol now.

'Oh,' Éowyn smiled, 'that’s why...' It seemed to Dwalin that a relief could be heard in her voice and he fixed his gaze on her. She seemed less tense somehow, which was odd because she didn’t seem tense before in the first place. Her eyes met his and she smiled wider, 'I was wondering why she didn’t reply, you know, because we were really close... I though maybe she was mad at me for... something. But if she’s on holiday then I’m sure she doesn’t even know that I’m here.'

Dwalin wondered how someone could become real close with the housekeeper. Unless, of course, that person was a heavy smoker obsessed with cats and soap operas... But Éowyn didn’t strike him as any of that.

'How do you like it here, inspector?' Faramir asked, his voice just as calm as his demeanour.

'It’s a really nice place,' Dwalin said, 'I must admit I’m rather glad it’s almost empty, seems more peaceful that way... How about you?'

'Well,' Faramir hesitated, looking at the smoke ascending from his cigarette, 'I like it much better now that someone from police is staying here...'

Dwalin looked at him sharply, 'What do you mean?'

The man was looking at the ground for a moment before looking the detective straight in the eyes, 'This may sound strange, and I have already been informed that I am making things up,' he glanced at his wife for a second, smiling gently, 'but let me assure you, inspector, that I am a very organized man. Things in my life have a certain order that I like and follow, with no exception.'

The detective nodded for him to continue.

'Well, we arrived yesterday in the evening and I went and put my wallet on the little table beside the door in our room, as I always do at home as well and I locked the door. We didn’t leave the room at all till this morning. When I woke up Éowyn wasn’t in the room, she often wakes up before me and there was a note on my bedside table saying that she went for a walk. So I got dressed for breakfast and then noticed that my wallet was gone. But I didn’t think too much of it, I though my wife had surely taken it with her, so I went out and found her by the swimming pool behind the hotel. She said she didn’t take the wallet and that it was probably somewhere in the room, so naturally we rushed back because I keep all my money and cards there. And when we got back, the wallet was on the table by the door...

Now I know what it looks like, but I could swear that it wasn’t there when I left the room. In fact I am hundred percent sure that it wasn’t...'

'Was something missing?' Dwalin asked, frowning.

'No, absolutely nothing,' Faramir shook his head.

'I’m sure you just didn’t notice it lying there,' Éowyn smiled at him, 'you do tend to be fairly sleepy till you have your first coffee...' She ran her fingers over his cheek lightly and he pressed a kiss to them.

'And now you’ll say I’m making that stalker up too, right?'

The blond woman hesitated before shooting a nervous glance at the forest, 'Well...'

'A stalker?' Dwalin and professor Gandalf said at the same time. The detective took out one more cigarette from the packet. Things were starting to get real weird; maybe he should grab Ori and lock them safely in their room before something more serious happened.

'It’s not... I’m not sure that it’s even...,' Éowyn clutched Faramir’s hand firmly, 'well, I saw someone in the forest last night, right in front of the hotel where the tree line starts. We have our room facing that way and... well, there was someone there, hidden in the shadows, looking at the hotel...'

'Wasn’t it perhaps Mr. Celeborn doing some-' Dwalin hesitated, out of ideas for what the owner might have been doing in the forest at night. The guy was probably even afraid of darkness...

'No, this one wasn’t so tall. When he noticed me he went back to the forest. Oh my, I get goose bumps just thinking about it... And I’m not making this up, Faramir saw him today as well, right?'

She turned to her husband, who nodded a bit, 'We were walking to the lake and there was someone in the forest, going in the direction of the hotel... Though admittedly it could have been someone working here, coming from the village, but then I would presume he would take the path we were taking and not scramble through the forest...'

Éowyn shivered, 'Oh, let’s talk about something else, shall we? I’ve heard there’s some celebrity staying in the hotel. Is it true, Cee?' She turned to the owner who had just entered the terrace, shooting nervous glances back to the glass case every two seconds. Dwalin snorted, he wouldn’t be surprised if the owner spent the night wrapped around it.  

'Oh, it is! But I promised not to tell any names and my lips are sealed! You wouldn’t believe how many secrets I have hidden here,' he tapped his finger softly against his temple.  

Dwalin looked at him, wondering what kinds of secrets the man was holding and suddenly being very sure that they were nothing good...   


	5. And as I close my eyes, I get the strangest feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5, in which Nori tells Dwalin a secret, Ori has a tough night and Radagast is busy, really busy.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 5 - And as I close my eyes, I get the strangest feeling

Dwalin woke up with a splitting headache and unsettling feeling that something was wrong.

He sat up with great difficulty, trying to focus and remember why on earth was he sleeping on the floor... The initial confusion as to where he was disappeared the moment he saw Nori curled up by the coffee table, snoring loudly.

His 'glass of champagne' turned into a bottle during the course of the evening. Or maybe two, the detective wasn't sure...

Dwalin looked around but couldn’t see Ori anywhere. Maybe the boy woke up and went to their own room... yeah, that must be it. He tried to get up, his hand slipping over an empty bottle. There were four of them within his reach. Oh, god... Did they really drink all that?

He chuckled; his (hopefully) future brother-in-law was way more chatty when drunk. The detective vaguely remembered Nori telling hundreds of stories from when Ori was little; he remembered himself laughing hysterically and Ori turning red and refusing to speak to either of them. And then he and Nori bet which one will make the boy laugh first... He completely forgot who won that bet in the end but he knew that at some point Ori was giggling happily and then suddenly dropped on the sofa, fast asleep, sending Nori and him into a brand new fit of laughter. 

And then he also remembered the jeweller telling him something on the balcony later, in a quiet, sad voice and him feeling strangely grateful for that because Nori had never told about it to anyone. Something about... Ohh, damn...

Dwalin shivered suddenly, remembering what woke him up in the first place - that strange feeling of someone being in danger. He stood up shakily, glancing around the room one more time, making sure that Ori really wasn’t there before making his way from Nori’s room. And somewhere in the middle of the corridor Éowyn’s words from earlier that evening came back to him. About an unknown man hiding in the forest... He couldn’t have got inside the hotel and hurt the boy, could he?

But everything was still and quiet in their room, all the windows closed and all the lights out. All except for the faint line of light visible beneath the bathroom door...

'Ori?' Dwalin mumbled quietly, knocking on the door once.

No answer came, just a little moan and the detective flung the door open, relief and bigger worry washing over him at once.

Ori was there, all right, safe and sound; but sitting by the toilet, hugging his knees to his chest, his face completely pale and sweaty.

'Ori, what’s wrong?' Dwalin heard panic in his voice and he sank down on his knees beside Ori, running his fingers over the boy’s forehead. Ice cold and drenched in sweat...

'I think...' Ori croaked, 'I might have food poisoning...'

'Wait here,' Dwalin commanded, though he knew it was a pretty useless order given the state Ori was in. He rushed out of the room and bumped into Radagast as soon as he ran into the corridor, hardly believing his luck.

'Doctor, I need you t-'

'Oh my, don’t tell me someone else is sick?' Radagast’s eyes widened and his kind, concerned face somehow managed to give the detective another fright.

'What do you mean 'someone else'?'

'Well, I’ve just been to young Faramir,' Radagast pointed in the direction of one of the rooms with a hand in which he was clutching a medical bag, 'food poisoning. And Mrs. Sméagol’s in a pretty bad shape too. I wonder what-'

'Later,' Dwalin interrupted him, ushering him to Ori, while all the time imagining all the violent deaths that would soon befall Celeborn. Couldn’t that jerk get fresh food for his kitchen like all normal hotel managers?

He was so deeply submerged in his anger that when Radagast next spoke to him, he winced with surprise.

'Just like the other two...' the doctor mused, patting Ori’s shoulder softly before standing up and tightening the belt of his emerald green gown, 'a bit worse I’d say... Did he eat enough during the day?'

Dwalin’s eyes tore from Ori who shivered on the floor and met the doctor’s. 'No...' he said quietly, clenching his fists. The boy ate nothing since breakfast because when they got into their room, Dwalin got him in bed and...

'Will he be all right?' he asked, his voice suddenly weak.

'Yes, yes, I gave him something, it will pass. It’s strong, mind you, so he may gibber but that’s quite normal. Get him in bed once he doesn’t feel sick anymore and make sure he drinks a lot... It’s very peculiar, because if I remember-'

'Radagast?' professor Gandalf’s voice sounded from the doorway and the small doctor made his way to the main room.

'What is it, Gandalf?' Dwalin heard him asking.

'It’s Mr. Celeborn, he just called... he’s sick, too.'

'Oh my, oh my,' Radagast shuffled back to the bathroom, apparently tired and gathered his things. 'I must run, please keep in mind he needs to drink a lot, Mr. Dwalin.'

He was out before the detective could react in any way, so Dwalin just went, grabbed a blanket and then sat down next to Ori, wrapping it around him to stop the shivers. The boy cuddled to him, laying his head on Dwalin’s shoulder, shaking all over while breathing raggedly...

And the detective was running his hand over the boy’s arm gently, trying to get him warm while thanking god he will be all right. At least that blonde moron was sick as well, serves him right...

He could see the clock beside his bed from his place. Three in the morning. It has been Ori’s birthday for three hours now... Well, this plan of his was a real success so far... From now on they’ll celebrate all the birthdays at home, or any other things for that matter...

'Dwalin...' Ori whispered after a while.

'Hmm?' the detective turned to him, fingers brushing the damp hair from his forehead. He wasn’t so cold anymore, good, that was good. 

'Will you help me to bed?'

'Sure, do you feel better?'

Ori nodded and Dwalin slipped his hands underneath him, carefully picking him up. He was way too light, resting his head against the detective’s shoulder, his eyes fluttering as if he was fighting the sleep.

'Do you have to go to work?' the boy asked, hand reaching for Dwalin’s chest, holding the fabric there feebly.

'No,' the detective answered, remembering the doctor’s words about gibbering and pressing a kiss to Ori’s forehead, 'no, I don’t. I’ll stay here with you.'

He laid him down, wrapping one more blanket around him because he started to shiver again.

'I’ve had a strange dream last night...' Ori whispered, his eyes closing, hugging Dwalin’s pillow to himself as soon as the detective laid him down. He looked like a little boy clutching his teddy bear in times of fear because that teddy was the only certainty in his life.

Dwalin remembered Nori’s words from earlier that night. He tried to imagine Ori when he was little. He wondered whether, was he in Nori’s position back then, he would have made the same decision...

'About what?' he asked, getting in bed as well.

'About angels who were scribes...' Ori mumbled, his voice getting steadily quieter, 'they said they were writing the story of my life...  they had so many books... but... but when I looked... there was only your name on their pages... just your name... I wonder why... why that dragon is crying... perhaps he’s missing...'

He sighed a little and then he was sleeping, his grip on Dwalin’s pillow loosening.

The detective embraced him, closing his eyes and running his fingers over Ori’s. _The story of my life... there was only your name..._ The detective buried his head in Ori’s hair, kissing the back of his neck gently.

He will do it. He will propose to him today no matter what and if the boy wants a wedding, he will go with it, he will...

*****

He must have fallen asleep too because when next he opened his eyes, faint morning light was pouring into the room. He could have sworn he heard a gunshot but it was Ori’s voice that woke him.

'Dwalin!' the boy yelled and the detective nearly flew out of bed, alarmed. Did Ori get more sick? Did he-

He realized that the boy was standing by the widow to the balcony, as pale as a chalk and shivering.

'What-'

'S-someone just got shot by the pool!' the boy was staring at him, wide-eyed.

Dwalin was staring back at him for a second before understanding hit him and he ran to the window. That wasn’t a gunshot in his dream, that was a real shot. 'What the-' he didn’t finish his sentence because just then he saw it too - a body floating in the water, the soft waves still encircling it, the blood spreading through them almost peacefully...

'I j-just wanted to o-open the window and t-then-' the boy stuttered.

'Stay here,' the detective commanded, grabbing his own gun, 'And lock the door!'

And then he was out of the room.  


	6. Now all I want to know is how to go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6, in which someone's nose is broken, someone is jealous and someone unexpected turns up.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 6 - Now all I want to know is how to go

Dwalin ran down the stairs and flung open the back door leading to the gardens with the pool. And while doing so whacked someone who was standing there and who tumbled to the floor.

One hand flying automatically to his nose, Mr. Sméagol immediately turned his attention to a little bowl full of wild blackberries he had in the other one. One blackberry fell to the floor and the jeweller let out a little groan that would be more befitting his probably broken nose than a lost berry.

'What are you-' he croaked, raising his eyes to Dwalin but the detective didn’t stop; he rushed past the man and then straight to the pool.

As he got closer he saw someone jumping into the water and swimming frantically to the unmoving figure, grasping it and trying to swim back, the strength obviously leaving him under the weight of his own wet clothes.  

Soft footsteps sounded behind Dwalin but he didn’t need to turn around to know to whom they belonged.

'Oh dear, oh dear!' Mr. Sméagol squeaked.

Dwalin stopped by an old ash tree, quickly scanning the area for any sign of the attacker before dropping on his knees by the pool and as the swimmer got closer to the edge, helping him to pull the body out of the water.

The long wet blond hair shifted, and the detective’s heart nearly stopped. Éowyn...

He pulled her out, laying her on the ground. There was a wound on her temple that was bleeding significantly but as far as Dwalin could tell, wasn’t life threatening. The bullet only grazed her then... He pressed his ear to her chest, listening for breath but there was nothing.

'She... can’t swim...,' a choked voice of her saviour panted beside Dwalin as the man scrambled out of the pool and flopped on the ground as well. 'Will she be all right? Will she?'

The detective didn’t answer, concentrating hard on the CPR he was currently practising. What the hell was going on here? Who’d want to kill a woman like Éowyn? Here of all places?

Éowyn gave out a choking sound suddenly and started to cough and spit mouthfuls of water, her wet hair sticking to her face. She made an automatic move to brush it away, smearing the blood over her cheek and hand and then stopped, staring at her fingers for a moment before starting to shiver violently.

'It’s all right, you will be all right,' Dwalin soothed her while pulling down his sweater and pressing it to her head to stop the bleeding. 'Do you understand?'

Éowyn’s eyes focused on him with difficulty and she nodded slightly.

The detective turned to the soaked man beside him. 'Go for doctor-' he stopped when he realized that he was looking into a familiar face - the tanned and always stubbly face of Bofur, author of romantic novels beloved by elderly ladies all over the world.

'-Radagast,' he finished. What on earth was Bofur doing here?

The writer nodded his head once and was off before Dwalin could say anything else, passing Mr. Sméagol on his way. The skinny jeweller had horror written across his whole face. His nose was still bleeding and he was clutching his blackberries firmly.

'Call the police,' Dwalin ordered, thinking that there will be enough time to apologize for that nose later.

Mr. Sméagol nodded frantically and with a shaky hand reached inside his pocket. His gaze slid to the injured woman unwittingly and when he finally took the phone out he was shivering even more than her, little black berries jumping from his bowl one by one. He looked at the detective apologetically and Dwalin reached for the phone.

He sure as hell hoped that Gimli wasn’t on duty that morning... 

*****

'Who’s that?' the most annoying voice in the world asked.

Dwalin sighed, pressing his forehead to a cool stone wall on the terrace. No, one carton of cigarettes definitely wasn’t enough for this weekend. He glanced inside the dining hall through the window and assumed that Gimli was asking about Ori who just came down, because the officer knew everyone else in the room by now.

'None of your business,' he retorted.

'He’s looking at you in a mighty funny way, s’all,' Gimli said, frowning before looking back at the detective with a happy, devoted smile. He looked like a puppy that finally got out of the dog shelter and found that its new master was everything it ever dreamed of. Gimli always looked at him like that...

'You’re the one who’s looking at me mighty funny,' Dwalin muttered, finishing his cigarette. 'Where’s inspector Bombadil anyway?'

'In hospital,' Gimli answered, staring at Dwalin’s lips as the detective blew out the last puff of smoke. 'Got shot yesterday during the investigation. Oh, it’s just a shoulder, nothing serious.'

Dwalin was grinding the cigarette butt in the ashtray. Maybe it was just local folklore, poor shooters shooting innocent people. Maybe Éowyn wasn’t even the intended target, just an unlucky passer-by. Good grief, he really needed some rest...

'With whom shall we start? I’d start with that kid, he looks suspicious,' Gimli frowned again, peeking around Dwalin’s shoulder inside the dining hall.

The detective blocked his view. 'First of all, there’s no us. It’s your case. Second, that kid is three years older than you and happens to be...' Oh god, how to explain this to Gimli... 'With me.'

'What? You work together? I thought chief inspector Thorin was your partner?' Gimli asked, completely ignoring the first point.

Dwalin ran his hand over his face. Dear lord... 'No, we don’t work together.'

'Then how... you mean... you and him... but...'

The detective watched as the penny dropped, the facts clicking into their places in Gimli’s mind. His expressions were making the whole process pretty easily followed and in the end the officer’s eyes widened, something strongly resembling heartbreak almost pouring from them.

Dwalin had no energy to deal with that now.

'I suggest you start with Sméagol and Bofur, they were both nearby when it happened,' he said instead, 'and then go to Éowyn.' Right after she recovered from the shock, she refused to be taken to the hospital (with so much authority that she completely enraptured the male part of the called ambulance) and was now occupying the room next to her husband.

'And you?'

'I’m here on holiday and I’m going to get breakfast.'

'Dwalin, please, I’ve always dreamed of working with you,' Gimli’s puppy eyes found his again. 

'You do realize that I am one of the suspects just like anyone else here?'

'No way, I know you didn’t do it,' Gimli shook his ginger head, the idea obviously too absurd for him.

'Excellent approach to the case,' the detective muttered. They could find Dwalin above a body, all covered in the victim’s blood, with knife and gun in each hand, a huge motive, no alibi and five witnesses claiming he did it, but Gimli would still say he was innocent.

'Dwalin, please...'

'Forget it.'

*****

'Didn’t I tell you to stay in the room?' Dwalin asked softly, looking at Ori sitting opposite him at their breakfast table, clutching a cup of black tea that Gandalf forced into his hand while passing their table. The good professor took on himself the duty of the cook that morning since Cee was still sick and there was no other employee yet; claiming that he won’t risk the health of anyone else and be in charge of kitchen till... well, till things sort out, one way or another.

'I would have stayed there,' the boy said quietly, his voice still a little hoarse, 'but when I saw the police car and ambulance I thought things were safe and I wanted to make sure you were fine...' He sipped his tea and grimaced at the taste of it. 'I'm really glad Éowyn's all right, she seems like such a nice person...' 

Dwalin was munching his toast for a moment before looking at the boy again. 'Ori, I’m so sorry I brought you here,' he said, feeling suddenly utterly down. First the food poisoning and now this... what next? Armed robbery?

The boy smiled, reaching his hand and putting it on top of Dwalin’s. He intertwined their fingers and unusual joy started to flow through the detective miraculously. It was pretty rare for Ori to show his affection when they were in public place.

'Nothing of this is your fault,' the boy whispered.

There came a grunt from the coffeemaker and they both turned their heads in that direction, only to find Gimli standing there with a cup of coffee, glaring at Ori’s hand.

The boy winced, turned a little pink and made a move as if to shift his hand but Dwalin stopped him, placing his other hand over Ori’s.

'Just ignore him,' he said, brushing his fingers over the boy’s ring finger absent-mindedly. 'Are you feeling a bit better?'

Ori nodded, smiling again, 'Yes, a lot. I’m just tired, I think I’ll go back in bed...'

Dwalin was looking at him. He was still pale but his cheeks were slowly getting some colour, 'I’ll come as soon as I can, I just want to talk to Bofur.'

'All right.'

They both stood up and while Ori went to the door, Dwalin turned to the table where Bofur, Mr. Sméagol and Gandalf were sitting, drinking their tea and coffee and talking quietly, before remembering that he had completely forgotten about something in the morning commotion.

'Ori,' he called and the boy stopped, looking at him questioningly.

Dwalin caressed his cheek. 'Happy birthday, love,' he whispered. And the boy looked at him the same way he did that morning in their kitchen, with so much love that it made Dwalin’s heart pound painfully fast.

'Thank you,' Ori said quietly, the smile on his lips getting bigger and bigger. And then he suddenly had his arms around Dwalin’s neck, kissing him so passionately that it made the detective gasp for breath as he wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist instinctively, returning the kiss and not giving a damn that there were people probably watching them.  

There came a quiet 'Oh' from Mr. Sméagol and a good-hearted laugh from professor Gandalf. And then a loud crash as the coffee cup fell out of Gimli’s hands. And judging from the way Ori giggled into their kiss, this was precisely what he was waiting for.

'There,' he whispered against Dwalin’s lips with a smile, 'now I can ignore him.' 


	7. You keep lying when you ought to be truthing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7, in which lies are told, truths are being withheld and tears flow.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deep apologies about the delay..... ^^

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 7 - You keep lying when you ought to be truthing

'This may sound like a very unorthodox question, Mr. Bofur, but it’s the last one and I have to ask,' Gimli said, shifting on his chair to get a closer look at the writer.

'Of course, do your duty,' Bofur nodded. He managed to change into dry clothes surprisingly quickly and was back in the dining hall within five minutes, waiting for Gimli to take his statement while chatting quietly with professor Gandalf and Mr. Sméagol. He still had a towel lying loosely on his head when he sat down at Gimli's table, running it through his wet hair from time to time. But somehow... it seemed like he was trying to hide his face rather than dry his hair...

'Could I have your autograph, please? I’m a big fan...' Gimli blurted out suddenly.

Silence fell through room as both Dwalin and Bofur stared at him.  

'Sure,' the writer nodded after a while, 'I guess...'

Gimli jumped to his feet, 'Thank you! I’ll just get my notepad from the car!' He dashed out of the room, leaving both men looking after him.

'You know,' Bofur said, once Gimli was out of the earshot, 'he sort of reminds me of that chief inspector who's got a thing for Mrs. Jackson. What’s his name? Gloin...'

'That’s his son,' Dwalin put an extra sugar in his coffee, stirring it slowly.  

'Really? Well, the apples don’t fall far from their trees, do they? By the way they got engaged, did you know?' the writer grinned at him.

'I've heard...'

Dwalin was looking at him, studying his face carefully. Bofur told Gimli that he was staying in the hotel incognito, wanting to rest from his work and fans and that he would rather prefer it if it stayed so. He said that he went for an early morning walk to the village and on his way back, when he was almost at the hotel, he heard a shot and saw Éowyn falling into the water. No, he didn’t see anyone else nearby but then he was rushing to the pool, not really looking around.

'What are you really doing here, Bofur?' Dwalin asked, taking the spoon out of the cup and setting it on the bar, looking the writer straight in the eyes.

Bofur bent his head a little, slowly tapping the fingers of his right hand on the table, probably playing some sad saxophone tune in his mind. 'I told you already, I'm taking a break...'

'Yeah, that’s right, you said that...' the detective nodded slowly, leaning on the bar a little. 'But it’s not truth, is it? Or at least not all of it...'

Bofur took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, as if weighing his words about what to say next but then he suddenly winced, as if only now remembering something. He ran his hand over his face, 'I told Ori that I have reading this weekend, didn’t I?'

'Yeah, you did... that’s why it’s so surprising to find you here,' Dwalin was looking at him; he seemed sad somehow, more older and tired. 'You know her, don’t you? Éowyn?'

Bofur started at the sound of her name, 'Why would you think that?'

'Because you were pretty worried about her earlier. I dare say you wouldn’t be this scared she’ll die if she’d been a complete stranger... And you knew that she can’t swim...' 

The writer met Dwalin’s gaze, 'Yeah, you're right, I know her... used to know her at least.' 

'Is she the reason why you came here?'

Bofur nodded hesitantly, 'Just to see her, not to shoot her. For heaven’s sake... I still can’t believe this is really happening.' He got up from his chair and started pacing, hands folded on his chest.

Dwalin sipped his coffee, immediately wishing he didn’t. Long gone were days when he could drink practically anything that even remotely resembled coffee and think it tasted good. Living with Ori had destroyed his ability to tolerate ordinary food and drinks...

'Any idea who would want to hurt her? You know her well, I presume?'

Bofur laughed bitterly, 'I thought so. I really did...' He looked at the detective, 'She’s the one who left, Dwalin...'

They were looking at each other for a moment before the writer started pacing again. Dwalin didn’t have to ask what he meant by those words, he knew.

They got drunk one night, shortly after the detective moved to Ered Luin, and when he asked why Bofur was always playing such sad songs on his sax each night, the writer told him about her. A nameless woman who he loved and who just walked away one day, without a word. He told him that he was playing those songs so that she would know how much she hurt him if she ever came back. But she never did... Till now.

'How did you know she will be here?'

Bofur smirked, 'She’s sent a letter... No, not to me, to Mrs. Jackson. I would have recognized her handwriting anywhere and... well, the old lady’s not home so I opened it. Twelve years of nothing and then suddenly here she is and not a single question about me... _I would very much like you to meet my husband_... That’s what she wrote...'

'Why on earth would you want to come here?' Dwalin asked. He was rather grateful that Gimli was gone because this right here was starting to shape like a fairly good motive.

'I had to see him.'

'Him?'

'Her husband... It’s pitiful, isn’t it? But I had to see what kind of man took her away from me... I wanted to see her and make sure her husband’s a good bloke, that’s all.'

Dwalin leaned against the bar again, few things starting to click in their place. 'Were you by any chance lurking in the forest around the hotel on Thursday night?'

Bofur turned to him, 'I wasn’t lurking, I arrived late and wanted to go inside but then I saw her on the balcony and... I didn’t want her to know I was here, so I just stayed in the shadows...'

The soft sound of the writer’s slippers was soothing the detective somehow. Funny, he would have never thought that Bofur was the kind of man who wore slippers at home... But then again he never thought that the writer loved Éowyn so much that he would actually go and do this... 'Know something about her husband’s missing wallet, too?'

'Well, I took it,' Bofur nodded, 'the locks in this hotel are completely useless and you know you always find out most about a man from his wallet... I returned it, mind you.'

Dwalin smiled, 'I know. And what did you find out?'  

'Not much... He’s a real neat freak, separating even notes by their value. Who does that? His father’s governor Denethor, did you know that? He’s a weirdo and such things are usually hereditary. One day she’ll put flour into a wrong jar, something will snap in his handsome head and he’ll kill her, mark my words.'

The detective chuckled, 'You really think so?'

'No,' Bofur admitted after a moment, 'he’s got their photo in his wallet, quite worn out, like he’s running his fingers over it when they’re not together... and she looks so goddamn happy in it, you should see it...'

Dwalin finished his coffee, cringing at its terrible taste and watching the writer from the corner of his eye.

'Why didn’t you tell Gimli that you know her?'

'Well, first of all, he never really asked; and until he asks I’m not telling because... well, he looks like a real blabbermouth and if the truth comes out about why I’m really here, I’m going to look like a creep... I’m making living by writing about finding true love, Dwalin, and here I am, unable to let go of mine... Goddammit, it's going to be a great boost to my sales...' 

Somewhere in the main hall a door opened and closed and silence fell again.

'Well,' Dwalin stood up from his barstool, 'if I were you, I’d be more concerned about what it will do to your sales if you are charged with attempted murder... You’re withholding crucial facts and if Gimli finds out that the two of you were lovers and you deliberately didn’t say it, you’re going to be his prime suspect number one...'

The door to the dining hall flew open and inside rushed Gimli, 'Sorry it took so long, did I miss anything?'    

*****

Dwalin was just about to leave the dining hall where Gimli started interrogating Mr. Sméagol when a terrible, heart-rending cry came from the lobby. Both detectives tensed and Mr. Sméagol slipped down from his chair, clutching the leg of the table firmly with shaky hands.

'W-what was that?' he asked.

'Sounded like the owner...' Dwalin muttered, making his way to the door quickly. He opened it and stopped, staring at the vision in front of him with raised eyebrow. 

Cee was kneeling on the floor, dressed in a silk deeply violet dressing gown and waving his arms in the air in a very hysterical way. It would have all looked very melodramatic but the overall effect of seriousness was completely spoiled by the pointy violet nightcap the owner had on his head, its tassel bobbing in front of his bloodshot eyes merrily.

'It’s g-gone... It’s GONE!' he yelled and started sobbing again, throwing himself on the floor.

'What is?' Gimli asked, pressing himself to Dwalin at the doorway while keeping his distance from the weeping man; as if Cee should launch at him at any moment and force him to wear something similarly ridiculous to his violet outfit.

'The... the...' Cee hiccupped and pointed to the glass case above him.

The case that had only the previous night protected the golden dragon was now completely empty. The glass unbroken, the little lock keeping it connected to the base still intact.

'There used to be something in there?' Gimli whispered, looking at Dwalin.

'Yeah, a golden statue of a dragon...' the detective answered. Damn it, damn it all. He had thought about it not even an hour ago, that an armed robbery would be a nice touch to the otherwise perfect weekend. Well, this one was not necessarily armed, but still a robbery. What the hell was wrong with this place? Whenever someone thought about a crime it simply had to present itself? 

The small figure of Mr. Sméagol made its way between him and Gimli and rushed bravely to Cee. There the jeweller hesitated and then patted the owner’s shoulder with awkward 'There, there, I’m sure they’ll find it...' He turned his big grey eyes to the detectives, 'Right?'  


	8. Goodnight, Julia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8, in which Éowyn has a request, Bofur has questions and Dwalin finishes his fifth packet of cigarettes.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 8 - Goodnight, Julia

Dwalin was sitting slumped into an armchair in his room, watching Ori sleeping and taking great comfort from the way the boy breathed in and out peacefully.

He ran his hand over his face before reading through the notes in his lap again. He wished Fili was there with him, he would get all the facts and testimonies neatly organized and probably come up with a very detailed schedule of what everyone was doing at the crucial point of the crime... or crimes, in this case. Dwalin used to laugh at him for his neatness but even he had to admit that such things were really handy.

'You’re going to help him with the case, aren’t you?'

Dwalin winced as Ori’s quiet voice disrupted the silence, looking up from the papers. The boy was lying on his side, wrapped up in the blanket with one hand around Dwalin’s pillow, watching him and smiling in the sweetest way. The detective smiled in return, raising from his armchair and sitting on the bed beside Ori. He wondered how long he had been awake...

He brushed the hair from the boy’s forehead, letting his fingers caress his cheek. Pink and warm.

'How do you feel?' Dwalin asked while letting out a sigh of relief.

'Good,' the boy answered. The detective narrowed his eyes, studying Ori’s face carefully. No flushing of the cheeks, no averting the eyes, no biting the lower lip... not lying then.

'Stop observing me like I’m a criminal or something, I’m not lying!' Ori giggled, reaching out a hand and trying to push the detective away. Dwalin chuckled, pressing his lips to the boy’s fingertips.

Ori buried his head deeper into his pillow, ruffling his hair in the process and making himself unknowingly even more adorable. He ran his fingers through Dwalin’s beard, lingering for a moment on the detective’s lips. 'You didn’t answer...'

Dwalin glanced back at the papers, 'I was just looking at some notes, that’s all...' He wanted to spend as little time as possible away from Ori, especially since it was the boy’s birthday and he had a very important thing to do today... But this case was... well, there was something that wasn’t right, something that should have been obvious, something they were missing... and if Gimli was left alone to deal with it...

Ori was looking back at him, putting his hand back on the detective’s pillow. 'I think you should help him...'

'And why is that?' Dwalin asked, surprised.

'Because he asked you... and he said please...' Ori smiled when he saw the detective’s expression.

'How do you even... Gimli was asking me when we were alone on the terrace, how could you possibly... Don’t tell that all this time you knew how to read someone’s lips and you never told me...'

The boy giggled again, 'Well, we all have our secrets, don’t we?'

Yeah, Dwalin thought, we all do... He was gazing into Ori’s warm innocent eyes, for the first time realizing how much he and Nori looked alike. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Damn it! How he hated it when people told him secrets that in some way involved those dear to him... and he hated it even more that he had to keep those secrets then too.   

He bent down, pressing his lips to Ori’s to stop himself from saying something.

The boy’s hands slid to his shirt, pulling him down fairly easily as he kissed him back eagerly. But then Ori broke the kiss, looking at the detective with wide eyes, 'I didn’t mean it... I mean, if you listen carefully you can hear what people are saying on the terrace all the way to the dining hall, and everyone could read the word 'please' on someone’s lips... I’m not keeping any secrets from you...'

Dwalin embraced him, burying his head in the boy’s neck. Good heavens, going into this hotel was the worst idea he ever got. And that included some pretty stupid stunts he had done back when he was young... If they had stayed at home, Ori wouldn’t have been poisoned, Dwalin wouldn’t have to deal with Gimli and he and Nori would still be keeping their distance and not know a single thing about each other... 

There came a knock on the door and without even waiting for an answer Gimli burst in. He clenched his fists when he saw Ori in Dwalin’s arms and frowned menacingly. The detective half expected him to burst in flames, wave a pitchfork and declare that he’s taking Ori to his kingdom below to slowly roast him.

'Hasn’t anyone ever told you that it’s bloody rude to burst in somewhere like that?' Dwalin yelled.

Gimli’s eyes shifted to the detective and the look of a faithful puppy was back. 'I knocked...' he mumbled sadly, looking at the floor.

'What the hell do you want?'

'Mrs. Éowyn asked if she could see you...'

Dwalin was staring back at the officer. Éowyn? But why...? 'Fine, I’ll be there in a minute, now get out!'

As soon as the door closed, the detective collapsed on top of Ori again. 'Quick,' he muttered, 'say 'Dwalin, _please_ , stay here with me...''

The boy laughed, kissing the detective’s neck gently. 'Dwalin, please,' he whispered, lips caressing the sensitive skin, his husky voice a mighty weapon of seduction, 'come back to me as soon as you can...'

*****

Dwalin lit a cigarette, crumpling the empty packet. That was the fifth one. Only five more packets left and it was only eleven in the morning, Saturday. He may have underestimated the cigarette supplies for this trip profoundly...

Was he following the rules he would be seated inside Éowyn’s room, keeping an eye on the situation there and not stand on the balcony, trying not to keep an eye on the situation there. But even though he was looking into the vast forests around the hotel, keeping his back to the room best as he could, he still couldn’t help but overhear everything that was being said inside.

'I understand, given that you used to live in Ered Luin, that you know B... Mr. Bofur...,' Éowyn said once he managed to close the door and leave Gimli and one of his sergeants safely on the other side. He looked at her. She was still pale and had a bandage around her head but other than that looked just as pretty as usual. She thanked him for saving her life and then asked about Bofur. She wasn’t one to beat around the bush, was she?

'I do.'

'Are you... close?'

'Good friends, yes.'

Éowyn’s beautiful eyes bore into his, 'Then I would like to ask you, beg you, if I must, for a favour...'

Dwalin took a drag, looking at the clouds that gathered above the hotel. Heavy and dark, a storm was coming... Everything was still though, not a single branch or leaf moved, everything was waiting... He heard soft crunching of the grit and soon enough saw professor Gandalf and doctor Radagast coming into the parking lot, strolling slowly past the cars. Each of them had a pipe in his mouth and both had hands clasped behind their backs. Gandalf was saying something and Radagast shook his head, looking deeply troubled. And a memory of something the doctor said last night came to Dwalin’s mind. _It’s very peculiar, because if I remember..._ That’s what he said after checking on Ori, before he got interrupted. The detective didn’t pay any attention to it then because he was worried about the boy but now...

Both men got closer beneath Éowyn’s window and Dwalin moved a bit inside the room, shifting the window so that nothing said inside could be overheard in the parking lot. Not that too much was being said inside though...

Éowyn had said her thanks, Bofur made a noncommittal sound and long silence fell... 

'I...' Éowyn started hesitantly after the quiet became unbearable and then paused. 'I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be and I don’t expect forgiveness, but... but I wanted to say sorry nonetheless...'

Bofur smirked and Dwalin could hear his slippers shift on the floor, as if the writer made few steps involuntarily just to escape Éowyn’s gaze.

The detective took a drag. He shouldn’t have agreed to this... he should have asked that skinny sergeant sitting in the corridor to keep an eye on Éowyn’s safety while she was chatting with her saviour. The man looked like he didn’t care about anything, so he probably wouldn’t care about what a famous writer and a crime victim had to say to each other either; besides the obvious 'thank you' and 'you’re very welcome' that is... But the rules stated that somebody had to stay inside with them until the identity of the culprit was known and Éowyn wanted Dwalin, so he agreed...

'You’re not going to say anything?' Éowyn asked. Her sheets rustled as she clutched it, clearly not really knowing what to do with her hands.

Bofur’s slippers started to pace. 'What the hell do you want me to say?'

'I don’t know...'

The pace fastened. 'Well, sure I can say something. It’s lovely to see you. Really nice looking chap you got there. Congratulations. You seem like an awfully nice couple. How are things anyway? Good? Good, I’m glad. Happy to hear that. Happy to hear you’re still alive and safe somewhere. Happy I don’t have to beg Mrs. Jackson for any scraps of information about your anymore. Do you have any idea at all about how fucking worried I was when I came home and you were gone? Have you stopped even once to think about what it will do to me? You were always there when I got home, always, every single day, and then one evening I come home and...' Bofur stopped, taking a shaky breath. '... and you were gone. Couldn’t you just leave a stupid note? Couldn’t you just tell me you didn’t love me anymore? Was that too much to ask for after three years?'

'No.'

Silence. 'No what?'

'No, I couldn’t tell you I didn’t love you anymore... because back then, that would be a lie...'

Another silence. And without even glancing at them Dwalin knew they were looking at each other.

'So what you’re saying...? That you still loved me when you left me?'

No answer came from Éowyn but she probably nodded because Bofur gave a laugh.

'Why the hell did you do it then? Why? Did I ever treat you bad? Did I ever-' his voice faltered.

Dwalin took another drag, watching the sky above him, trying not to listen and thinking about Ori instead. If it starts raining they won’t be able to make love on their balcony like he wanted... But bed would feel pretty good too... Yeah, he won’t care where it is as long as Ori is in his arms. As long as he’s out of this room...

'We didn’t belong together, Bofur, you must have seen it too...' Éowyn was talking  very quietly suddenly, almost inaudibly. 'We are the same, you and I, we are both the same... we are like fire, burning and wild, unstoppable... Don’t you see? You can’t have two people like us together, it would burn everything and in the end there would be nothing left... This world needs balance; I needed someone like Faramir, calm and steady, who could keep me from rushing through my life, who could make me stop and live, here and now...'

Bofur was quiet for a moment and when he next spoke, his voice was void of all that anger before, was back to its normal sad tone, 'So what happens to me in a world like that?'

Dwalin glanced at the writer’s reflection on the glass. He had never, in his entire life, heard such profound sadness in someone’s voice. And he had never wished he could be somewhere else like he did back then.

'You need someone like that, too...'

Bofur stopped and Dwalin could hear him somewhere near him, 'Not all of us are that lucky, Éowyn...'

The blonde woman shifted on her bed, as if trying to lean closer to him, 'But there is someone... there was someone before me, wasn’t there?'

'What are you talking about?'

A soft, lenient smile could suddenly be heard in Éowyn’s voice when she replied, 'Do you remember the song you played when we first met?'

A quiet thud sounded as Bofur sat down on one of the armchairs, _'Nothing’s gonna change my love for you_...'

'Yeah, nothing’s gonna change my love for you...' Éowyn repeated, whispering, as if lost in memories about times that were long gone. 'You know what song you played that night I left?'

'How would you know?' Bofur retorted, the edge coming back into his voice.

'Because I was there, in Erebor Bar. I came back there because I wasn’t sure that... But then you played that song and I knew...'

The writer was quiet for a while, maybe trying to decide whether or not Éowyn was lying; whether she really was in the bar that night; whether, if he had seen her, he could have persuaded her not to leave him... 'So what did I play?'

' _Goodnight Julia_...'

Bofur sighed impatiently, 'So?'

'That’s a farewell song... Don’t you understand?' she sounded so patient, like she was explaining something to a child who didn’t really want to understand. 'You let go of me right that first night... Maybe not consciously, but you did let go... You never let go of the one who was with you before we met, though. Never... And I understand that you’re angry with me for leaving you but I think... I think you’re more angry with her...'

The writer flew to his feet, startling Dwalin who turned around sharply. Friend or no friend, he couldn’t let Bofur hurt Éowyn in some sudden rage of anger. But Bofur was only standing by his armchair, shivering and glaring at the fragile woman in bed. 'There was no one before you,' he said through gritted teeth.

Éowyn took a deep breath, looking back at Bofur steadily. 

'What the hell are you suggesting here?' the writer asked, 'That I... We were just friends, all right? Nothing else! There was never... How could you even suggest... If you’re trying to ease you conscience for putting me through twelve years of hell then this is a truly pitiful way to do so. Screw this!' Bofur marched to the door, throwing them open and disappeared down the corridor, his footsteps echoing all the way to the room.

Gimli’s sergeant stuck his head inside, 'Everything all right?'

'Yes, everything’s fine, please close the door,' Dwalin answered, finishing his cigarette.

He closed the door to the balcony and looked at Éowyn. She was sitting on her bed, clutching the blanket, running her nail over the seam. Her eyes were glued to it and when she next looked up at the detective there were tears in them.

'Do you know her? This person I’ve been talking about?' she asked and her voice quivered.

Dwalin hesitated, but then nodded, 'I think so...'

'Is there... any chance they could be together again? I would...' she took a shaky breath, running her fingers under her eyes, 'I would like him to be happy...'

The detective looked into her eyes seeking a positive answer desperately and then dropped his own gaze, 'I don’t know...' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you want to hear some sax...^^  
> [Goodnight Julia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92kvmB_6SY)  
> [Nothing's gonna change my love for you](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-fxs_ZWXH4%20)


	9. I may just never see you again, or might as well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9, in which Dwalin finds clues, Ori distracts him and Nori's missing.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the delay again, my two jobs are catching up with me... T.T

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 9 - I may just never see you again, or might as well

The moment the first heavy raindrops hit the window, Dwalin turned away from it, facing Nori’s room again. There has been no sign of the jeweller the whole morning and by now the detective was beginning to worry.

He knew that Nori didn’t have the food poisoning like others, because when he left his room that night, the jeweller was perfectly fine, snoring under his coffee table. He also knew that it was highly unlikely that Nori just went down to the village, sad and drunk, to look for company. And he knew that the jeweller didn’t leave the hotel and return to the city because he felt bad about revealing more to Dwalin than he probably ever intended...

The reason the detective knew that, was that Nori’s car was still parked in front of the hotel, and more importantly, his car keys, phone and wallet were still lying on the bedside table in his room. It is one thing to forget your car keys somewhere, it is completely another to leave the wallet there too. Especially when it’s crammed with so many credit cards as Nori’s, Dwalin thought as he looked at it. But then where the hell did he go?

Remembering Bofur’s words about how you always find out most about someone from their wallet, Dwalin reached for it. He was never one to sneak through other people’s stuff, on the other hand if he doesn’t find Nori soon, Ori will get worried and Gimli suspicious...

He picked up the open wallet, putting back the coins that had tumbled out and running his thumb over the credit cards neatly inserted in their slots. Precisely five millimetres were visible of each of them, not more, not less. There were only four notes inside, separated by value and Dwalin chuckled. Well, here you go, Bofur, who does that indeed...

There was a photo too, of a pretty woman surrounded by three boys, all of them smiling happily. Dwalin had no trouble recognizing her, they had her photo at home as well... Only there was just Ori and his mother on theirs, not the boy’s brothers. It was taken at some confectioners’ competition and Ori’s holding a trophy in it, his mother smiling proudly with arms around his shoulders...

The detective looked at the photo in his hand more carefully. It was way older than the one on their mantelpiece, Ori looked like he was barely seven, eight years old, sitting on his mother’s lap and smiling. Dwalin brushed his finger over the photo’s shiny surface; the boy looked like a little angel, small and tiny for his age and yet spreading immense joy around himself... like he fell straight from heaven with the sole purpose of making everyone else’s life better...

The detective’s gaze slid to young Nori. He could have been what? Fifteen, sixteen back then? Smiling smugly into the camera, with on hand on his little brother’s shoulder, leaning closer to their mum. Young Dori was exactly what Dwalin imagined. He was beaming into the camera, standing straight like he was the king himself, hair neatly parted and combed, dressed in a black and white suit that made him look older than he really was. They all looked happy then; no worries and no need to pretend a part of their lives yet...

Dwalin returned the picture and glanced at the letter tucked behind the notes. He didn’t need to open it to know what it said, Nori showed it to him last night...

'It’s really a charming place, isn’t it?' the jeweller said then, standing on his balcony, taking out a cigarette from a packet and offering one to the detective while gazing at the star-studded lake with alcohol induced philosophical interest.

'Yeah...' Dwalin nodded. 'You should take your wife here next time...'

Nori gave out a small laugh upon Dwalin’s words, half merry, half sad, 'I don’t think I’ll be taking her anywhere, not anymore...'

The detective looked at him, trying to focus in his own drunken state, 'What do you mean?'

The jeweller reached inside his pocket, fumbling with the contents of his wallet for a moment before extracting a letter. He passed it to Dwalin without a word, looking at him briefly before putting a cigarette to his lips again.

The detective’s eyes flew trough the neatly written text, missing every other word or two due to the darkness, but then he stopped abruptly almost at the end, rereading the passage there two times.

_-you remember that agreement we made? I never thought I’d be the one who will want to leave but... I would like to risk it now, Nori, I really would..._

'What’s that about?' Dwalin asked.

Nori glanced back into the room where Ori was sleeping on the sofa, mumbling something in his sleep, before meeting Dwalin’s gaze.

'Eilinor and I... well, we didn’t get married because we loved each other. It was more of a... deal between us. We were friends and neither of us could be with the person we really loved back then. And we didn't want to be alone either, so... ' he took another drag. 'So we made a deal and got married. Agreeing that if one of us ever finds love again, the other will let him go. I’ve almost forgotten about it...'

Dwalin was looking at him. Friends... So that’s how they managed to look so happy together even though they didn’t love each other, or at least not that way...

Nori shook his head a little upon seeing the detective’s expression, 'Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for her, I really am, it’s just that...' He ran his hand through his hair, all messy by now and for the first time Dwalin noticed that when he wasn’t all neat and excessively tidy, he was rather handsome.  

'How about the other one?' the detective asked after a while, somehow keen to change the subject.

Nori looked at him, confused, 'The other one?'

'The one you couldn’t be with?'

Nori stopped his cigarette halfway to his lips, looking at Dwalin in a rather peculiar way, as if wondering whether or how he should answer that. He glanced at Ori involuntarily again, leaning against the railing, and as he took another drag he said, almost inaudibly, 'That was never meant to be...' 

Dwalin followed his gaze, thinking how cute Ori looked and that he should put a blanket around him or something before he catches cold, and then a sudden thought occurred to him. He was studying Nori’s sad features, things slowly starting to make sense. 

'That’s why you never visit Ori?'

The jeweller turned to him sharply and the detective noticed that the hand in which he was holding the cigarette was shaking. 'Why on earth would you say that?' he asked, his voice strangely strangled.

Dwalin took a drag himself, moving a bit closer to the door so that he could see the sleeping boy better, 'I know you love him, he’s your little brother. You saved him last year during that robbery; you get this sparkle in your eyes when the two of you are speaking of some jewels; you take any chance to be with him... as long as it’s not in Ered Luin. The only reason why you went to the _Café_ on Thursday was because you were worried whether Ori loves me enough to marry me. And it was your first visit in years... So that said, I thought that perhaps the reason why you don’t go to the _Café_ , or Ered Luin in general, is because this love of yours from years past lives there and you don’t want any accidental meeting...'

Nori was looking at him for a moment, his lips partly open and then he looked at the floor, being quiet for some time.

'I used to live there, did you know that? Above the _Café_...' he said then. 'For some time, at least. I couldn’t get on with Dori and father, so I started my own business and moved downtown. I did fairly well, back then people used to spend thousands on jewels if you gave them what they wanted... There used to be an antique store down at the corner and that’s where we met...'

Dwalin smiled, 'Love at first sight?'

Nori chuckled, really smiling for the first time. 'No, nothing like that. We were... complete opposites, you could say. We had absolutely nothing in common and it would have never crossed my mind that... But anyway like I said, it was never meant to be. It’s long gone, forgotten...'  

'Is that so?' the detective looked up at the sky, hoping that perhaps a star might fall. 'Then how come you've never smiled like this before?'

Nori glanced at him, picking up a bottle from the floor and looking at it before taking a sip, 'What does that matter? It was one-sided love anyway...'

'You sure?'

'Yeah, I’m sure. I have a crucial piece of evidence for that...' Nori was gazing at the lake again, toying with the bottle on the railing. 'You know, it’s funny how a single look after you kiss someone you’re in love with can crush your heart... I’ll never forget it, that strange combination of confusion and fright and hate...'

'Perhaps you just misunderstood, if it was an unexpected kiss...'

Nori laughed, running his thumb over the bridge of his nose, 'What, you think I got my nose broken during a cricket match at some fancy school? No way, this is a result of one well aimed punch... I didn’t misunderstand...

It would have never happened if our parents didn’t have that accident... Then I wouldn’t be crying in another person’s living room and do stupid things... It was a pretty rotten time back then anyway... The day after that I learned that our father got into a good deal of debts, and they all passed onto Dori and me. I wouldn’t have cared all that much, all I wanted was to get out of town, even out of the country... But Dori came up with a decision that we’ll have to sell the _Café_ to pay some of it off...

Mum left it to Ori, but he was only fourteen back then, so Dori was in charge of his things...' Nori took a deep breath, taking another sip from the bottle. 'So what choice did I have? Ori loved the place, it was his home; more than that damn mansion has ever been... He was just a child and the _Café_ was all that was left of the life he had, I couldn’t let Dori take that away. So I moved out from Ered Luin but stayed here. We agreed to fuse mine and Dori’s businesses to save what we could... And we did rather well in the end, didn’t we?'

Dwalin was looking at him. He had no idea... and given the way Ori always talked about the past, neither did he...

'I married Eilinor few months after that, right under the blooming cherry trees... But they didn’t bring us everlasting love, did they? So that’s it, that’s the sad story of my life...' Nori hesitated. 'You won’t tell Ori about it, will you?'

'No,' Dwalin answered. 'I won’t tell him any of that...'

He put an emphasis on the word _any_ and the jeweller looked him straight in the eyes, small smile appearing on his lips, 'You know, right? That it wasn’t a woman?'

The detective nodded, 'You were very careful to never use a pronoun, this whole time... And girls don’t punch like that.' He pointed at the jeweller’s nose and Nori laughed, putting the bottle down, looking at the way the liquid splashed in it for few moments before following Dwalin inside the room.

The detective put a blanket around Ori, listening as he mumbled quiet words in his sleep, tossing a bit.

'Dwalin?' Nori muttered and the detective looked at him where he was sitting by the coffee table, his eyes closed, 'Don’t marry Ori under a cherry tree...'

*****

Dwalin put Nori’s wallet, car keys and phone into a drawer and locked it. They already had one robbery to deal with, he didn’t need another one... Glancing around, he sincerely hoped that the jeweller didn’t have that small gun he took from Smaug hidden somewhere in the room, that really wouldn’t do. His gaze stopped on a painting above the mantelpiece. It was a picture of the same blonde woman he and Ori had in their room. Her hair was done differently and she had some frilly violet dress but it was definitely the same woman. Now that he thought about it, there were more of her paintings around the place. Well, someone here was obsessed...

He was just leaving the room when he met Faramir carrying two cups of tea to Éowyn’s room. 

'How’s the investigation going, detective?' he asked, his voice a bit hoarse. He was still pale, with dark circles under his eyes.

'Well,' Dwalin took a deep breath, bracing himself to have to admit that the investigation wasn’t going all that well, wasn’t going anywhere in fact, when his gaze slid to the cups in the young man’s hands. Bloody hell, why didn’t he think of it sooner?

'Detective?' Faramir repeated, looking at him curiously.

'Well, it goes well. We have a lead, actually...' Though to which one of the crimes he wasn’t really sure.

Faramir smiled, 'Oh, glad to hear that! The detective downstairs had me worried for a moment, he’s just sitting by the table, glaring at some papers. I’m really thankful you got involved into this...' He turned around as he heard someone climbing up the stairs, smiled one more time at the detective and continued down the corridor, passing Gimli’s sergeant sitting by the door with a soft nod just as Bofur reached the top of the stairs.

The writer looked just as bad as Faramir. The red colour he had when he was leaving Éowyn’s room had given way to the palest shade a man can have without being dead.

'You all right?' Dwalin asked, frowning.

'Great, I feel great. Might shoot myself at any moment, but other than that, great...'

'You have a gun?' the detective asked, knowing perfectly well that Gimli’s men had found nothing in Bofur’s room during their search earlier.

The writer hesitated, the unexpected question bringing him out of his lethargy, 'It was just... you know, a figure of speech...'

*****

When he opened the door to their room, Ori was nestled in the armchair, reading a book. He looked up, surprised and then smiled when he saw Dwalin.

'You finished-' he started but the detective closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to Ori’s before the boy could finish his question. Dwalin closed his eyes, feeling only the taste of Ori’s lips, the heat of his warm body beneath his fingers. He wanted to go downstairs and tell Gimli about the berries but then changed his mind; standing in the corridor, looking at all the closed doors, thinking about all the people behind them who left or were left by their loved ones... a strong need to be with Ori filled him; right then it was more important than anything else that was going on in the hotel.

Ori moaned against his lips, gasping for breath. He pulled away just a tiny bit, looking at Dwalin attentively with his innocent eyes. 'What happened?' he whispered, his hot breath brushing the detective’s cheek. 

Dwalin was looking back at him, wishing with his whole heart he could tell him. Tell him about Nori and Eilinor, Bofur and Éowyn, Nori and... He wished he could tell him how he didn’t understand any of them, because he could never do what they did, he could never leave the one he loved. He buried his head in Ori’s neck, breathing in deeply...

The boy’s hands were gently running over his back, calming him and then they slowly slid to his belt, tucking the shirt out of his pants.

'Ori-' he mumbled. He should go. He should tell Gimli-

The boy’s lips nibbled at his ear, whispering Dwalin’s name with so much passion that they completely blocked out all other thoughts on his mind. Ori managed to pull the detective’s shirt out, unbuttoning it while uttering quiet words, kissing his way down to Dwalin’s throat.

And the detective let him do all that without interfering in any way. He was just looking at the raindrops hitting the window in a slow pattern, feeling the boy’s fingertips on his body as he stripped his shirt, caressing his sides tentatively, lips slowly burning his skin, never stopping to whisper words of distraction and comfort and sending shivers through the detective’s body.

Ori pushed him back a little and Dwalin sat on the floor, letting the boy to unfasten his pants and then pull them down. He watched as Ori stripped his own pyjamas, his eyes never leaving the detective’s. He breathed out hard as the boy knelt between his thighs, pushing him till he was lying on his back on the soft carpet, fingers brushing over Dwalin’s length, painfully hard by now...

'Ori,' he whispered, burying one hand in the boy’s soft hair, moaning as Ori’s lips made their way to his belly. He chuckled as the boy ran his tongue over a ticklish spot and heard Ori giggle as he did it again, the detective wriggling beneath him. But then that tongue moved lower and Dwalin tilted his head back, panting and moving one leg as the boy gently nudged it to make more room for himself. Ori’s lips wrapped around him, hot and wet, tender and yet without shame or hesitation; his fingers tracing a path that his tongue then followed; a soft humming at the back of Ori’s throat gliding effortlessly to Dwalin, making his whole body shiver with pleasure...

The detective felt himself getting closer and he wanted to warn Ori but neither his voice nor his body were listening to him. He was just lying there, the carpet beneath him the softest thing he had ever touched, Ori above him the most beautiful vision he had ever seen... He wished he could feel this way forever; too lost in bliss to care about anything and still sufficiently there to see the boy clearly; right on the brink of ecstasy...

Ori’s wet tongue brushed over the tip of his hardness, the boy pressing a little kiss there before looking at the detective. His thumbs were caressing Dwalin’s hips absent-mindedly and he licked his lips, all moist and red now, 'Do you want me to...' The detective gathered all the strength he could still muster and pulled the boy in his arms, kissing him deeply, feeling both their tastes on his lips. 'With you...' he whispered against the soft skin on Ori’s neck, 'only with you...'

The boy smiled, teasing, 'You sure you can hold that long?' His soft fingers brushed over Dwalin length again lightly and the detective bit his own lip. Good heavens! That’s going to hurt later, he thought, while at the same time wondering where his shy, blushing Ori disappeared...

He chuckled, looking straight into the boy’s brown eyes, 'I can hold on longer than you...'

Ori’s smile got wider and he licked his lips again, 'Show me...'

With one quick motion Dwalin pulled him beneath himself, gasping at the thrill of the sudden closeness and heat, trying hard not to think about how damn good it felt. He pressed his lips to Ori’s, one hand reaching down and wrapping around the boy’s hardness. He smiled into their kiss; there now, Ori was just as aroused as he was. He nudged the boy’s legs a bit more apart, fingers fondling the familiar places, knowing only too well where to be gentle and where a bit roughness could set a blazing fire in Ori’s veins and make him moan with delight... With two fingers caressing the boy’s inside, he brushed exactly such a spot and Ori cried out, his fingers bruising Dwalin’s upper arms involuntarily.

The detective closed his eyes for a moment. These days... the way Ori shivered with ecstasy was way more arousing for Dwalin than if he himself was being caressed... The boy’s lips found his, forcing him to open his eyes. Ori was pressing himself to him desperately, panting, 'You can... do that... all you want... it’s not working... on me...'

Dwalin silenced him with another kiss, smiling, 'I see...' he brushed the spot one more time, enjoying the way Ori moaned and snuggled so close to him that the detective could feel the frantic pounding of his heart. 'Let’s try something else then...' He removed his fingers, replacing them with his hardness, sliding inside the boy’s body with his whole length in one smooth motion. The boy arched his back, one hand flying to his own hardness, clutching it, while he was biting the back of his other hand. Dwalin was breathing heavily, watching Ori and knowing perfectly well that if he moved, it would sent the boy over the edge no matter how hard he tried to stop it. But he didn’t want that... not just yet...

'Do I win?' he rasped, smiling.

Ori opened his eyes, breathing just as heavily as Dwalin as he met his gaze. He reached out his hands and gently pulled Dwalin closer, lips brushing his tenderly. He was looking at him for a moment before that cheeky smile of his returned, and as he kissed Dwalin again he whispered, 'Not yet, darling...' He arched his back again, tightening the muscles that surrounded the detective's hardness and Dwalin’s arms gave up beneath him.

He collapsed, panting, on Ori who giggled. 'Cheat...' Dwalin muttered as he tried to get up weakly, the boy’s hands wandering tentatively over his sides being no help at all. Their lips met again, both of them smiling, caressing each other in any way that came to mind... Dwalin started to move and Ori’s arms wrapped around him tightly. He could feel the boy’s hardness against his stomach, pulsing and all wet by now... It all felt so bloody good that the detective stopped caring about everything altogether, feeling only the heat and tightness of Ori’s body, bringing them closer to the edge with each thrust. It took precisely seven more thrusts before he felt the boy tense in his arms, a familiar and warm substance spilling over the place where their bellies were pressed together.

'Dwalin...' Ori whispered, still panting, 'Dwalin...' The boy’s muscles were tightening around him in the most delicious pattern and before the detective could even think about how much he loved it when Ori said his name, he came as well. He came inside the boy and an almighty, crushing force swept through him, leaving him exhausted, happiness and bliss taking him into their gentle arms...

Lying on the carpet with Ori snuggled to him, every breath was bringing immense peace to the detective. He chuckled, running his fingers through Ori’s hair.

'Did you call me 'darling'?'

The boy turned red, avoiding Dwalin’s eyes. 'I don’t really know... I might have. I say all sorts of things when...' he swallowed, 'you  know...'

The detective kissed the top of his head, smiling,’ I liked it...' It was endearing. Come to think of it, Ori very seldom used words like that... Dwalin frowned suddenly. They didn’t have just one clue... they had one more, and it was right before them this whole time...  


	10. Dark world aches for a splash of the sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10, in which Gimli makes some subtle proposals, Dwalin has a theory and Ori is mistaken for a husband.....^^

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 10 - Dark world aches for a splash of the sun

'Where have you been so long? You said you only want to check- You’ve taken a shower? In the middle of the day? That’s- Oh my god! What happened to your lip?'

Dwalin reached inside his pocket, not really bothering to answer any of Gimli’s questions. He was feeling particularly well but as soon as the officer opened his mouth, brand new headache has started to sneak up on him. Where on earth were his... He sighed, remembering that he had finished his cigarettes back in Éowyn’s room and didn’t take a new packet from their room when he left. Dammit... 

'Dwalin...' Gimli said, the strange seriousness of his voice making the detective look at him. 'Did he do that to you?'

The detective laughed, ‘What?' He glanced at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. The bite mark was barely visible... it hurt like hell when he talked though.

'Well just so you know... I would never do that to you,' Gimli said, clenching his fists on the table to prove that he was deadly serious. 'Unless... you wanted me to, that is...' His eyes got a distant look for a moment, almost as if he was imagining what he would do if Dwalin asked him to bite his lower lip. Judging from his smile, he would probably do it. Gladly... 

'I need to tell you about something,' the detective started, changing the subject before the conversation turned to something he really didn’t want to hear. His gaze slid to the table by which Gimli was sitting. 'Where did you get those?' he asked, pointing at a little bowl full of plums.

The officer looked at them as well, 'In the garden. I don’t really want to eat anything here because... well, you know, the food poisoning... Nobody knows what caused it yet and I was kinda hungry... Would you like one?' He grabbed the bowl eagerly and handed it to Dwalin.

'Yes, as a matter of fact...' the detective muttered, taking the bowl slowly and looking at the plums. They still had that faint dusty coating of freshly plucked and unwashed plums, only Gimli’s fingerprints disturbing it. Perfect. 'Come with me,' he told Gimli and headed for the door out of the dining hall.

The officer followed him, making his way between the tables quickly, 'Where are we going? We could stay here, there’s nobody else around. And it’s raining, isn’t it romantic?'

'We’re going to make an experiment.'

*****

'Are you sure we are not disturbing you, madam?' Dwalin asked, sitting on a chair beside Mrs. Sméagol’s bed and leaving Gimli to draw one the heavy armchairs closer.

'Oh, of course not,' she smiled, pulling the sheets closer to herself and smoothing them.

'We were on our way to lunch and thought we’d drop by to see if you’re better and ask you few questions. Plum?' Dwalin offered her the bowl and her pale round face lit up.

'Oh, I love plums!' she reached out and took one.

'Detective Gimli plucked them himself so you needn’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with them,' Dwalin smiled at her, watching as she hesitated for a moment, looking at the plum before smiling feebly back at him.

'It’s just awful, isn’t it? So many people sick... I couldn’t believe it when doctor Radagast told me. Thank goodness my husband’s all right.'

'Where is he, if I may ask?' the detective glanced around the room. Everything was neat and tidy there, the clothes in the slightly open wardrobe all folded. Matching alarm clocks on the bedside tables, cook books on hers, four issues of _Goldsmith’s Year_ on his. No portrait of the blonde lady above the mantelpiece, just a landscape that actually fitted there.

'He offered to take doctor Radagast into town for some medicine. Something’s wrong with his car, couldn’t start it up... or something...'

No wonder, with his driving, Dwalin thought. 'You’re staying till tomorrow as well, madam?'

'Well... we were supposed to stay till Tuesday but with all the horrible things that are going on here... we were talking about leaving earlier, when I feel a little better. But it’s really such a pity! I wanted to see the Rainbow Bridge so much...'

'Rainbow Bridge?' Gimli asked, shifting his armchair a little closer to the bed.

'Rainbow Bridge,' Mrs. Sméagol nodded, happy to be able to share her knowledge. 'It is said that if you toss a coin from it while thinking about the one you love, you shall be together forever. Oh, I know so many people who have done it and are happily married. There has to be something about it, don’t you think?'

Gimli’s eyes got wide, 'How come I’ve never heard of it?'

'I’ve never heard of it before either...' Dwalin muttered.

'Oh, it’s actually interesting! A lot of people from around here don’t know about it but in the city it’s incredibly famous!' She turned to the detective, 'Yesterday after dinner I’ve been telling about it to your husband and his brother because they didn’t know about it either and-'

Gimli flew to his feet, 'He’s not his husband!' He glared at Mrs. Sméagol as if she had just suggested that they should all go and run over puppies.

'Oh my! Apologies, I simply assumed that-'

'That’s quite all right, madam,' Dwalin smiled at her, chewing on a plum and waiting for Gimli to sit down again. 'You were saying?'

'Oh... well...' she glanced at the officer cautiously and upon seeing that he was safely back in his armchair, fuming silently, continued. 'Ah yes, the bridge. Anyway, at least with weather like this I don’t have to feel bad about staying in bed. I wouldn’t go there when it’s raining anyway...'

'Yes, the road must be pretty impassable, I imagine...'

'Oh, that’s not it! The road’s fairly good and it’s only thirty, forty minutes from here. The thing is that the bridge is wooden and rather old, covered with moss and all, you know? And it’s hard to climb it in normal weather; in rain it must be a real nightmare...'

'Did you say climb?'

Mrs. Sméagol nodded, 'It’s not an ordinary bridge, it’s shaped like an arc (hence the 'Rainbow Bridge', you see) and there are... well, sort of... short ladders on each side which you have to climb first.' 

'That’s interesting...' Dwalin said, taking another plum. 'Mrs. Sméagol, have you ever met Mrs. Éowyn before?'

The woman blinked, the sudden change of subjects confusing her for a moment, 'Er... no, no I haven’t.'

'Have you noticed something strange yesterday? Some unknown people hanging around? Some strange noises by the morning?'

'No, nothing like that. You know,' she glanced out of the window, toying with the golden chain around her neck, 'in the books I’ve read, it’s usually the husband who tries to kill a woman. But I hope you’re not thinking that this is the case - Mr. Faramir looks like a very respectable and nice man. I’m sure he would never hurt anyone, even if that person deserved it.' She tugged at her chain absent-mindedly and a deeply red pendant in a shape of a plump little heart jumped out from beneath her nightgown.

Dwalin was watching it for a moment and it crossed his mind that if Ori was there with him, he would be able to tell him precisely what kinds of gems were adorning it. He stood up from his chair and smiled at Mrs. Sméagol, 'Life is always a bit different from what they tell us in books...'

'Yes,' she agreed quietly, 'it is...'

*****

'So what did we learn?' Dwalin asked Gimli as they were walking towards the dining hall again.

'Um... she likes plums?' the officer offered.

'Yeah, she does,' the detective nodded, opening the door and heading for Gimli’s table covered with notes and empty cups. 'And yet she didn’t eat it...' It was way warmer here than in the hallway and a sudden wave of cold washed over Dwalin, making him shiver. Brilliant. Getting ill was exactly what he was missing on this trip... He brushed the palm of his hand over his forehead and sighed with relief. No fever, not yet at least. 

'Well... she was talking all the time, so perhaps...' Gimli mused, watching as Dwalin poured himself a cup of tea.  

The detective shook his head. 'She was about to eat it but stopped when I said you plucked them.'

'So?'

'So yesterday she told me that she’s looking forward to be back in the city, where everything is _clean and sterile_. She has allergy on basically everything from what I’ve seen, so I’d say she won’t touch anything that hasn’t been grown in an enclosed greenhouse, dipped in some chemicals and properly washed at least three times... Our plum’s the proof.'

Gimli blinked, opening his mouth to say something that would suggest that he was following Dwalin’s train of thought but upon finding nothing closed it again.

'You know what that means, right?' the detective joined him by the table, stirring his tea slowly.

'Um...'

Dwalin looked up at Gimli’s confused face and then fumbled with the papers in front of them till he found Mr. Sméagol’s statement, placing it in front of the officer. 'He told us he was outside by the path to the village when he heard the shot, picking up blackberries for his wife. Since she was sick and since she loves them, he thought they would cheer her up.'

'Well, that’s jolly nice of him, you know? Not a lot of people bother-'

'Gimli, concentrate,' Dwalin muttered.

The officer was looking back at him blankly before his eyes widened, understanding almost pouring from him. 'Oh! But he must have known she won’t eat them!'

'Precisely.'

'Well, perhaps he picked them for himself...'

'But then why lie to us about picking them for her?'

Gimli sat back into his chair, crossing his arms on his chest and thinking hard for some time before asking, 'Any ideas?'

Dwalin smiled, sipping his tea. 'I think part of it was truth; that he has picked them up for someone. But I don’t think that someone was for his wife...'

The officer’s cheeks puffed, keeping any curses that might have slipped out inside. The detective chuckled; amazingly like his father - even the tiniest possibility of a juicy gossip would get their complete and undivided attention. 'You’re saying he’s cheating on her? And that his mistress is here in the hotel too? Wow!'

'I’m not saying anything like that. I’m saying he picked the blackberries for someone and didn’t want us to know for whom. Probably because he thinks that if we knew about them knowing each other, it might compromise him in some way... Though...'

'Yes?' Gimli leaned so close to him in his eagerness that his nose almost bumped into Dwalin’s.

The detective shifted his chair as far away from him as possible, 'When I borrowed his phone to call police and ambulance this morning, I noticed that his last call was from someone called 'Precious'...'

The officer shrugged, 'That may be his pet name for his wife...'

'His wife’s there as 'Mirabelle', you know why? Because that’s her name.'

Gimli stood up and shuffled to the window, 'Poor woman... she should really get to that bridge before they leave...'

'You’re not seriously believing- What are you doing?' Dwalin was watching as Gimli reached inside his pockets and started to rummage through their contents with his back to the detective.

'Nothing, just checking if I have any coins for... you know,' the officer coughed, 'parking when I get back to the city...'

'Parking, sure,' Dwalin repeated, not believing a single word and being pretty sure that Gimli was planning to climb to that bridge at some point himself, rain or no rain. He put the tea cup to his lips again and nearly choked on the tea, his heart starting to pound painfully. A memory came back to him, of Nori’s wallet on the bedside table, open, with all the coins scattered around. _After dinner I’ve been telling about it to your husband and his brother... That was never meant to be..._ Screw it! Nori couldn’t have been so stupid to go all the way to some idiotic bridge in the middle of the night just to toss a coin from it, right?

He flew to his feet, 'Gimli how many men do you have here?'

The officer turned to him, surprised, 'Well, just old Jerry upstairs... everyone else went to the village for lunch. Nobody wants to eat here. Why?'

That’s just great, Dwalin thought as he looked outside where the rain was still pouring without a break. Great. He ran out of the dining hall, thinking what options he had. There was no way he could ask Ori for help, not in this case. Gimli was too small. Professor Gandalf too old, no matter how fit he looked. Cee and Faramir were sick. Radagast and Sméagol were gone. Which left... Dwalin sighed. Could this trip get any worse?

He flew up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the door.

The soft tapping of keyboard stopped and after a while Bofur called, 'Who’s there?'

'Dwalin,' the detective answered.

'Oh,' huge relief could be heard in the writer’s voice. 'Come on in, it’s open.'

The detective opened the door, taking in the image of Bofur sitting in front of his laptop in his dressing gown, the slippers back on his feet, before saying, 'I need your help. Ori’s brother went to some bridge and I think something happened to him.'  

A loud crack sounded from within the room and Dwalin opened the door fully. Ori was standing there, his eyes wide, Bofur’s peace lily lying at his feet.

Damn...  


	11. Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11, in which Dwalin finds new clues, Bofur gives up his coat and Nori is confused.....

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 11 - Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory

Ori was standing so close to him that Dwalin could feel the heat radiating from his body. He watched as the detective pulled on a sweater and took his coat from the wardrobe, not saying anything the whole time. But as Dwalin put the coat on, Ori’s hand came to rest on his arm suddenly. Softly, pleadingly.

'I’ll go with you...'

'No.'

'But I could...'   

'No.'

The little velvet box inside the detective’s pocket brushed against his thigh, its familiar feeling making Dwalin feel even worse. He didn’t tell the boy Nori was missing even though he knew; he wanted to hide from him that the jeweller was probably hurt somewhere, at least until he returned safely back with him... It didn’t really matter that he did it so that Ori wouldn’t be worried, he was still hiding things from him... And now he told him no. Twice. He sure as hell hoped it won’t be the boy’s answer to the most important question of the day. Lifetime, actually...  

'Please...' Ori’s worried eyes met his.

The detective cupped his cheeks gently and kissed him before resting his forehead against the boy’s. He breathed in his scent, fingers caressing the soft skin. 'Look,' he said, 'it’s half an hour walk, it’s cold and it’s raining. Do you really expect me to let you go into that? You’ve only just started to feel better...'

Ori’s hands reached for Dwalin’s and he intertwined their fingers, pressing himself closer to the detective and standing quietly like that for a moment. Then he nodded and almost inaudibly whispered, 'You’ll be careful, right? If... if anything happens to you there...'

Dwalin smiled, 'Nothing’s going to happen to me. We’ll find Nori and get him back as soon as we can, all right? Just wait for me here.' He kissed him again, slowly, lips lingering on Ori’s for a moment.

A polite cough sounded from the door and Bofur asked, 'Ready?'

The detective glanced on the clock beside their bed. One in the afternoon, that meant he only had eleven hours left in which to propose. Well, that was still plenty of time, wasn’t it? He kissed Ori one more time, whispering 'I love you' against the boy’s lips.

'I love you too,' Ori kissed him back, then clutched his hand briefly and let go.

*****

Once they got deeper into the forest, it wasn’t so bad. The wind had stopped lashing them and now there was only the rain to deal with. Well, screw it if this was a 'fairly good road' Dwalin thought as his feet sank into the mud for the hundredth time.

'If it’s so famous they should at least fix the road that leads to it, don’t you think? And what kind of fool would even go there in this weather?' Bofur muttered, pulling his coat collar closer to his neck.

The detective glanced at him. They actually managed to go half the way by car but then had to resort to walking anyway because the road was full of deep holes; which in their turn were full of water and mud. They have been walking for about fifteen minutes, both drenched already and only now did Bofur in any way direct the conversation to Nori.

Dwalin hesitated with his answer, wondering for a short moment whether it would do any good to anyone if he hinted that he knew that once upon a time, long ago, Nori and Bofur were... were what? Not lovers certainly... Friends then. Friends who kissed. Just that one time... It wouldn’t though, it would only cause more damage...

He realized back in Éowyn’s room, when the writer started yelling... _What the hell are you suggesting here? That I... We were friends nothing else! There was never..._ That’s when Dwalin knew he was talking about a man. He wouldn’t get this defensive if it was a woman, would probably even use it as a way to get back to Éowyn. No way, there was a man in the past and it went only too well with what Nori told him the previous night.

And then there was that thing Ori said on Thursday night... _Then Bofur came in and Nori left straight away..._ That’s some rotten luck. You spend so many years avoiding one place and then that one time you actually go there, you happen to meet the only person you’ve been trying to avoid... But that was none of his business. Whatever happened, happened and it was between Bofur and Nori and no one else.

'Well, never judge drunken man’s ideas,' he said after a while, passing through a particularly vicious-looking puddle.

'Nori was drunk?' Bofur asked despite himself, surprise in his voice. Then he dropped his gaze to the ground, looking like he wished he had never opened his mouth.  

Dwalin grunted in agreement and, glancing at the writer, added, 'You two know each other?'

'Well, we...' Bofur ran his hand through his wet hair, the water dripping from it. 'We met.' He settled for observing the ground very carefully then, being completely quiet and probably lost in memories. When Dwalin barged into his room earlier, he just stood up and said he’ll get dressed. He didn’t ask which one of Ori’s brothers, he didn’t ask what he was doing in the hotel, he didn’t ask why Dwalin asked him, of all people, for help...

Paddling through the mud, hands deep in his pockets to keep them warm, Dwalin decided to let him be, ask no more questions. He clutched the velvet box instead, allowing himself to get lost in his own thoughts too. He thought about Éowyn and who’d want to hurt her; about Sméagol’s mysterious blackberries; about the golden dragon and which one of the guests could have been skilled enough to open the case without breaking either the glass or the lock and not leave a trace... But holding that small box, his mind soon drifted to Thorin and his talks about various ways how to propose. He should have listened more carefully back then, he really should have... because he suddenly realized that he had no idea how to do it properly... Should he get on his knee? No way, that would be too cheesy. Should he say something deep and thoughtful? Probably. Yeah, definitely. He should... Something thoughtful...

'Dammit,' Bofur next to him muttered, one foot stuck deep in the mud.

'Need help?'

'No, go ahead,' the writer shook his head, wriggling his foot in all directions in vain.

The detective took twenty more steps before he saw the outline of the bridge in the distance and quickened his pace. The bridge was pretty impressive, certainly architectural rarity but Dwalin was in no mood to stop and admire it.

'Nori!' he yelled, scanning the area but seeing nothing. The forest around the road was thick, the green gloom of its vast branches making it hard to see properly even during a sunny day, and downright impossible in the rain. The sound of the river was muffling all other sounds and Dwalin couldn’t hear anything than its gurgling. Good heavens, if Nori fell into the water... But then a little movement caught his eye, right next to the bridge. There was a little shelter formed by the bridge’s girders and Nori was there. Huddled in the corner and drenched to the bone, dirty, shivering terribly, half-dried, half-smeared blood covering his left cheek.

Dwalin ran there, getting on his knees beside the jeweller and looking into his pale face. 'Are you all right?'

Nori fixed his gaze on him and nodded, relief almost pouring from him. 'I think I’ve... s-sprained my ankle...' he chattered. The detective looked at his left foot, cursing when he saw how badly it was swollen.

'I slipped on the... w-wood...'

'You sure it’s not broken?' 

'N-no... I haven’t r-really found the c-courage to look at it...'

'How about that head?'

'That’s just a b-bruise,' Nori started to shiver even more, 'I would have w-walked... but I can’t stand...'

'It’s all right, don’t talk,' Dwalin commanded, looking at his own wet coat and cursing one more time. Well, a wet coat’s not going to be of much help now... Just then a rustle of fabric sounded beside him and a coat appeared in front of his face. He glanced up to see Bofur standing next to the girder, passing him his somewhat dry coat, his woollen sweater soaking up the rain quietly and quickly. The writer was glaring intently at the opposite bank, his expression unreadable.

Dwalin took it, wrapped it around Nori and then crawled next to him. 'Really brilliant ideas you have...' he muttered during that, slipping one hand around the jeweller’s waist, 'walking to a goddamn bridge... in the rain... I’ll help you up on three, all right? We’ve got to get you to the hotel quickly... One, two, three!'

He pulled the jeweller up and supported his weight as Nori limped weakly around the girder. There he stopped suddenly, frozen to the spot, looking at the man in front of him. And Bofur was gazing back at him, standing equally motionless for what seemed like eternity. Then, without a word, he reached for Nori’s hand and put it around his neck, his other hand hesitating for a moment before wrapping around the jeweller’s waist. 'You’re going, Dwalin, or what?'  

*****

It was a jolly cheerful way back, Dwalin had to admit that... Bofur was staring determinedly ahead of him, fascinated by something in the distance and Nori was peering at the ground, just as fascinated by the mud and stones in front of him, trying to lean on Dwalin as much as he could so that his contact with the writer was minimal. Nobody was talking to anyone. Dwalin sighed.

'You know, I remembered something...' Nori said after the longest ten minutes, his voice husky and his gaze still fixed on the road. Both men looked at him, neither of them sure to whom he was talking. There was a strange expression on Bofur’s face; like he knew that sooner or later the two of them will have to talk about the past but he didn’t really want to do it in front of Dwalin. But then Nori’s eyes turned to the detective and Bofur relaxed.

'What is it?' Dwalin asked.

'Remember how Andy Sméagol said that the scales on the dragon’s statue in the hotel are made of Bohemian rubies while the one in Rome had scales of red spinel? Well... that’s not true.'

'What do you mean?'

'The one in Rome had scales of Bohemian rubies, too... I remembered. I was talking to the jeweller who made it, few years after that exhibition, and he said that the only red gem he’s working with is Bohemian ruby because of its beauty and quality. I didn’t see the dragon properly then but Andy did and he remembers everything; he would not forget or make a mistake...' Nori gasped for breath and Bofur shot a concerned look at him.

Dwalin glanced at him too, a bit uneasy. If he was hurt more than he was letting on...

But Nori continued, undisturbed, 'So I think... it’s the same dragon. And Andy knows it and is lying for some reason...'

'That statue in Rome... was it for sale back then or just on exhibition?' the detective asked.

'It was on exhibition but then I heard it was sold...'

'No idea to whom?'

Nori shook his head and winced a bit, pain visible on his face. Bofur’s eyes left the fascinating object in the distance to look at the jeweller again and his hand tightened its grip around him. And the jeweller noticed, taking a shaky breath and leaning closer to Dwalin.

'Celeborn said it was a gift... But he looked genuinely surprised upon finding it was real gold and gems...' Dwalin muttered. Why would someone buy an expensive statue and than give it to someone else, pretending it was just a fake? Assuming, of course, that the owner was telling the truth and by now Dwalin was inclined not to believe a single word the blonde man said...

'I wonder why Andy never told him it’s real...' Nori mused, and upon seeing the detective’s confused expression, explained, 'He’s stayed in the hotel before... was actually the one who told me about it, ages ago. He said that it’s really a peaceful place, perfect for business trips because it’s close to the town but not so crowded as the hotels there...'

'How often does he come here?'

'Once, twice a year?'

'Perhaps the guy only got the dragon few month ago, so Sméagol saw it for the first time yesterday too...' Bofur suggested, speaking for the first time. Dwalin glanced at him, wondering that perhaps that was true before Nori shook his head, his gaze fixed on the road again.

'No, Cee told us yesterday that he had it for years...'

Silence fell again and Dwalin looked at the ground too, thinking. If Sméagol had stayed in the hotel before, then he must have seen the dragon. And if Nori was right, he must have recognized it, knowing it's extremely valuable... If he wanted to steal it, he had plenty of opportunities during those past visits... Then why try something now? Unless something was different this time. And the only thing that came to the detective’s mind was that now he had his wife with him... Mrs. Sméagol herself said that this was her first visit here, that she didn’t usually go to the country...

The image of the dragon flashed in front of his eyes, standing on its hind legs, its front paw outstretched, the small claws bent. He wondered why back then, and thought that the dragon was probably trying to reach something, but... maybe it wasn’t reaching out, maybe it was passing something it was holding...

And almost as if reading his mind, Nori muttered, 'And that’s not all... you know how the dragon is reaching out? I didn’t think of it yesterday because I thought it was a different dragon but if it's the same one... then there used to be-'

'A heart in its hand...' Dwalin finished and the jeweller nodded, surprised.

'How on earth...?'

Ori figured it out right that night, when Dwalin laid him in bed and the boy was gibbering. _I wonder why... why that dragon is crying... perhaps he’s missing..._ A heart. There was a place on the dragon’s chest where the pearl tears suddenly stopped; the place beneath which a heart should be... But the heart was gone; it was in its paw, the tears only filling an empty chest... The dragon was weeping because it was giving its heart to someone, knowing that it will be left with nothing but tears from now on... and yet it gave it, its plump little heart...

... that Mrs. Sméagol now had around her neck...

This was starting to get way more complicated. This made no sense...

It even crossed Dwalin's mind that she took the statue but then he realized it was highly unlikely given that she was busy being food poisoned. The detective grunted, hand automatically flying to the pocket where he usually kept his cigarettes and finding nothing. He forgot to take them again... Great. 

Radagast said that the food poisonings were peculiar because four people had been sick and they didn’t have the same food. Dwalin didn’t really bother to think about it too much because there were other, more urgent things then, but... How the hell can people get food poisoning from different meals while the others remain perfectly fine, eating the same stuff? And a memory came back to him, of Faramir at the next table, leaning over to him and him passing-

'The oyster sauce...' Good heavens...

Both Nori and Bofur turned to him, confused.

Dwalin’s phone began to ring and the detective reached for it. 'Gimli...' he muttered, carefully removing Nori’s hand from his neck and leaving the jeweller to lean against Bofur. 'I’m just gonna tell him we found you...'

'Who is he?' Nori asked.

Dwalin blinked, thinking that perhaps the jeweller hit his head way more than he thought, before remembering that Nori left at night. He had no idea that Éowyn had been shot, that the dragon was gone, that there was police in the hotel... that Bofur was staying there as well. That’s why he was so surprised when he saw him by the bridge, thinking that perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him... 'I’ll tell you later... Gimli?'

'How is it going?'

'Good, we found him. He’s fine... more or less. Is doctor Radagast back yet?'

'Yeah, him and Sméagol arrived about five minutes ago...'  

'Good. Listen, don’t let anyone leave the hotel.'

'Oh, don’t worry, nobody wants to leave. It’s the people coming here that are the problem.'

Dwalin hesitated, not sure whether it was just his imagination or he heard an edge in Gimli’s voice. 'What are you talking about?'

'Nothing,' the officer muttered, 'just the owner’s nephew Legolas arrived.' There was another silence for a moment and then, 'Arrogant git.'  


	12. All I want to do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12, in which Legolas teases Gimli, Dwalin is sick and Ori brings up an unexpected topic.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't apologize enough for the delay, but still... I'm awfully sorry about it and a deep thank you to everyone who's still sticking with me...^^

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 12 - All I want to do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight

He could see them even from the distance, little bubbles covering the lake, made by the falling rain. It was going to rain the whole night then... Dwalin shivered, pulling the blanket closer to his body. He was standing in their room, holding a packet of cigarettes in his hand but the thought of going outside on the balcony to have a smoke suddenly didn’t seem so appealing.

He closed his eyes, trying to suppress the pain in his throat and head. The soft sound of saxophone was resonating through the hotel and it soothed the detective. It was familiar, it was like being home... Bofur was playing downstairs in the dining hall, having a little crowd of listeners.

Since no one was allowed to leave the hotel till tomorrow, most of the guests came down to the warm dining hall to listen and chat. Nobody seemed to want to stay in their room in weather and mood like that, and down there they could at least supplement their opinion about the current affairs; sipping their tea spiced with whiskey or brandy, listening to sad tunes Bofur brought to life with just his fingers and breath...

The police was gone as well, except for old Jerry who seemed to have nothing better to do than look after Éowyn’s safety and was now sitting with her and Faramir in one corner, amusing them with police stories in quiet deep voice.

When Dwalin and Bofur finally managed to get back to the hotel with the hurt jeweller it was three o’clock, and by the time the detective finished talking to Legolas it was already four and it was dark outside, the heavy clouds bringing the night earlier...

He and the lab technician were standing in the lee of the parking lot staircase, watching the receding figure of Celeborn. The owner had thanked his nephew for coming, expressed his opinion that everything was against him and was now shuffling his feet slowly to the main door. His fluffy amber coloured nightgown was flapping in the soft wind and Celeborn pulled it closer to his throat. At least he didn’t need to worry about the rain, Dwalin thought, looking at the owner’s matching yellow nightcap. He definitely seemed more sulky than sick to the detective, the discovery and following disappearance of his little golden treasure crushing his heart more than the events going on in the hotel.

'Listen, Lass, you get on well with him?' 

The blond man next to the detective cringed at his nickname but didn’t comment upon it in any way, 'Normally, I guess. Like you do in a family; we send each other postcards at Christmas, we call each other on birthdays; we don’t visit each other every week. Or month for that matter. Don’t get it wrong, it’s not him what I’m here for, I was just curious about the case.'  

'Any idea where your aunt is?' Dwalin asked as the owner closed the door behind him, hovering above the guest book for a moment before picking up the phone that was probably ringing.

Legolas looked at the detective, confused. 'My aunt?'

'Celeborn’s wife.'

'But... he was never married...'

Dwalin frowned, 'While we searched the rooms earlier, looking for the gun, we found a wardrobe full of women’s clothes and jewels in his bedroom and when I asked him where his wife was, he told me _I can’t honestly answer that, detective, because I don’t know_.'

Legolas fished out a packet of nicotine gums from his pocket and put one in his mouth, chewing on it slowly and grimacing at its taste. 'Beats me. To be honest, I always thought that he was, you know... Want some?' he offered Dwalin the packet of gums.

'No thanks,' Dwalin shook his head, lighting a cigarette instead. He noticed the blonde man glancing at the packet ruefully and smiled. The head of their lab department was constantly trying something that was supposed to help him stop smoking. He’s been trying to quit when Dwalin met him, and hasn’t stopped trying in all these years; but as far as the detective knew, he never succeeded. 'Maybe I should cut it down a bit too...' he mused, looking at the cigarette. Half of another packet was already gone and Saturday was far from being over... He should slow down and save them for later because something was telling him he won’t be this calm when the right time comes for him to propose... And then there was Ori. The boy never said anything, never looked at him reproachfully when he smoked, never in any way suggested that he minded... and yet Dwalin knew. He wondered how, but he knew that Ori didn't like it, just as well as he knew that the sole reason for it was that one day his smoking could take him away from the boy forever...

'Well, you can always try these, I think they really work,' Legolas rolled up the sleeve of his shirt eagerly, revealing a small nicotine patch on his upper arm. 'New brand. Supposed to make miracles.'

Dwalin grunted, shifting his wet coat. He was cold and Legolas standing next to him only in his shirt as if the summer has just begun wasn’t really helping.

'Anyway, trying to reduce it because of your boy?' the blonde man asked, rolling his sleeve down again and without even waiting for an answer, went on, 'Behold! I never thought I’d see a day when you’d deny yourself a cigarette. But he’s one helluva cute kid, so I do understand...'

'Hands of him,' the detective muttered, trying to sound menacingly.

The lab technician laughed, seeing right through it, 'Oh, don’t worry. If I were to go that way, I’d probably go for the officer over there.' He motioned to one of the police cars where Gimli was standing, scribbling something furiously while one of his sergeants was holding an umbrella above him. 'He’s so easily flustered, it’s amusing.'

'That’s why you called him little earlier?'

'Oooh,' Legolas’s smile got wider, and he rolled the gum in his mouth lazily, watching the officer with unconcealed interest, 'I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think that ' _Move a bit, little one_ ' would actually be considered nice by some.'

Dwalin chuckled, taking a drag, 'Not by Gimli, though...'  

'Just you wait, I’m going to charm him with my wit and he shall be all mine.'

'And how exactly are you planning to do that?'

'By helping you crack this case,' he took out a plastic bag from his haversack and passed it to the detective who looked at the familiar bottle of oyster sauce inside.

'That's the one we had at table last night. Please tell me it’s just out of date and not filled with arsenic or something...'

Legolas beamed, patting Dwalin on the shoulder lightly, 'Be at peace, detective inspector, no arsenic as far as I can say. I found it at the backyard, in the bin. Would have made much more sense to just leave it in the kitchen, it wouldn’t raise that much suspicion.'

'Meaning?'

A grunt sounded from distance and upon glancing there the detective noticed Gimli looking at the blonde man’s hand on his shoulder. He seemed to dislike it even more than when Ori was the one touching Dwalin. Legolas, never one to care about other people’s opinion, left his hand right where it was and continued, 'Meaning that if I found it in the kitchen it would suggest that the food poisoning was just a mere accident and whoever put that bottle on the table had no idea there was something fishy about it. Throwing it away on the other hand... Look at this. It’s out of date, all right, but it's been out of date for about five years. And it was laced with a generous dose of peanut butter...'

Dwalin stared at him, half expecting him to start laughing at any moment but the lab technician was dead serious. 'How do you know that?'

'Well, for starters, you can smell it. Plus I licked it. I asked around and it’s confirmed, everyone who was sick used the oyster sauce last night. There are two people with severe peanut allergy and that’s Mr. Faramir (he’s got certain... charm, don’t you think?) and Mrs. Sméagol (interesting lady, I’m fairly surprised she isn't allergic to shellfish as well). Your Ori got a dose on empty stomach. Uncle’s a bit of a mystery, I guess he really poured a lot on his food... No fingerprints on the bottle by the way, plus it looks kinda expensive...'

'Are you trying to tell me that someone here wanted to do away with either Faramir or Mrs. Sméagol? That the food poisoning wasn’t just a mere accident?'

'It looks that way... It’s a pretty lame way though, if you ask me. Didn’t put enough of it in, otherwise they would be way worse than just sick. I’m taking the bottle with me to the town, to run some tests. I’ll tell you more after that.'

Dwalin took a drag, blowing the smoke in Legolas’s direction just to be a good friend... It seemed like everything was directed at Éowyn and Faramir but...

_It’s a pretty lame way._ The technician was right. Everything about this was lame. Someone wanted to shoot Éowyn but managed to only hurt her. Someone wanted to kill Faramir and managed to poison three other people as well... What if Éowyn and Faramir weren’t even meant to be harmed? What if they just were unlucky enough to get in the culprit’s way? Who would be the target then? Oh... But... the dragon didn’t fit it. The missing dragon was complicating things. The detective rubbed his eyes, feeling more tired than ever.

'Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow then,' he muttered.

Legolas nodded, sniffing the air, 'Yeah. You know you really shouldn’t smoke when you’re sick.' He looked at the detective pointedly and then ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it bit and after adjusting his shirt neatly, he headed in the direction of Gimli with bold, 'Need a lift, darling? I’m sure you can’t see over that dashboard very well...'

The officer turned red and marched to his own car without a word, not even attempting to hug Dwalin on his way or wishing him sweet dreams like he always did. The detective chuckled, moving slowly towards the hotel instead. He hesitated by the main door when he saw Cee still on the phone, visibly disinterested in what someone on the other end of the line was telling him, but entered anyway. He’d rather risk talking to Celeborn than walking around the hotel to the terrace entrance and collapsing half way there.

His head hurt like hell by then, he was hungry and cold and the only thing he could think of was a nice hot bath, preferably with Ori in it...

The door to the dining hall opened just as he thought that and the boy was there, like an angel sent from heaven to save him. His eyes fell on the detective at once and he frowned slightly. Dwalin guessed he looked just as bad as he felt...

...

'The bath’s ready!'

Ori’s soft voice called and started humming again, in the rhythm with Bofur’s sax.

Dwalin could see Nori from his place by the window, sitting on the deckchair on the terrace, partly hidden from the rain by the roof. His expression was unreadable but he was gazing at the lake, holding a half smoked cigarette in his hand, probably forgotten... The door to the terrace opened then and Mr. Sméagol headed towards the jeweller.

The detective turned from the window and pulled the blanket from his shoulders, making sure on his way to the bathroom that his coat was positioned well on the heater, so that Ori wouldn’t want to do it himself (and accidentally find the little box). The bathroom was nice and warm, the air there much easier to breathe. The bath was filled with hot water, the steam rising from it slowly and lazily, wrapping everything in a gentle mist...

Ori was fidgeting with their towels, moving them aside and placing a big bath towel on the heater there. 'I’ll warm this one up for you,' he said without turning around when he heard the detective’s footsteps behind him. 'That way you can-'

Dwalin wrapped his arms around him, pressing lips in the boy’s hair, 'You’re godsend, and I love you for that...'

The boy turned in his arms and looked at him with concerned eyes, fingers caressing his cheeks gently before moving to his forehead. He bit his lower lip, 'I should get you some more tea. And food, you didn’t eat enough during-'

Dwalin kissed him, resting his forehead against the boy’s, feeling worse than ever. 'Don’t, I’m fine,' he lied. 'Just... stay here with me, won’t you?'

Ori nodded. 'I will,' he brushed Dwalin’s lips with his lightly.

The detective smiled at him, reaching for the belt of his dressing gown and tugging at it weakly. Damn, even his muscles hurt... The boy’s hands were suddenly on his, untangling the belt easily and pulling the gown down. Dwalin shivered even though it was warm inside and climbed inside the tub eagerly, sighing with relief. He might have burnt his skin a bit, but that didn’t matter, he was finally getting a bit warmer...  

'You should have gone and changed into dry clothes straight away,' Ori preached, hanging Dwalin’s gown on the peg.

Dwalin made a noncommittal sound and slid down in the bath till his shoulders were submerged as well. Ah, bliss...

'I was so worried about Nori, I didn’t even notice you were ill...' the boy was running his fingers over the detective’s gown absent-mindedly, speaking suddenly very quietly, 'I didn’t even thank you for bringing him back...'

'You don’t have to thank me for that, it was nothing,' Dwalin mumbled, closing his eyes. He felt miraculously better thanks to the water. Or maybe it was just Radagast’s medicine finally kicking in...

'It wasn’t nothing,' the boy objected, 'so thank you...' Dwalin felt Ori’s warm lips on his suddenly and opened his eyes. The boy was sitting on the edge of the tub, looking at him and biting his lower lip again. He looked like he wanted to add or say something but wasn’t sure how the detective would react. Dwalin’s heart started to pound faster for some reason and he pulled one hand out of the water, brushing it over the boy’s cheek. Ori’s skin seemed even warmer than the water, so the detective caressed his cheek again, basking in that warmth. 'What is it?' he asked. 

The boy smiled, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. 'I... I don’t think Nori and Bofur like each other too much, do you?'

Ah, avoiding the subject that’s really on his mind...

'I don’t think that’s the case,' Dwalin muttered, eyeing the boy carefully.

'Well, it still felt a bit awkward during the late lunch, you know? I asked Bofur to sit with Nori and me because he’s all alone here, but he didn’t really want to and then... Nori was talking only to me all the time and so was Bofur. I mean, it’s understandable because they don’t know each other but... they haven’t spoken a single word with each other, the whole time... The food was good though, I never thought professor Gandalf was such a good cook, did you?'  

'Ori.'

'Hm?' the boy looked at him questioningly.

'What’s bothering you?'

Ori took a shaky breath and blushed, looking at the bathroom door just to avoid the detective’s gaze.

Dwalin’s hand slipped to his, thumb caressing him soothingly, and he sat up in the bath, 'You now you can tell me anything, right?' That was a lie. There were things he never wanted to hear from the boy. _I’m leaving you. I found the ring earlier today and I don’t want that. I don’t want to marry you... I don’t love you anymore._ He’d rather die than to hear that...

'It’s silly, really,' Ori muttered, looking at their hands. 'I was... Mrs. Sméagol was talking to me, few minutes before you returned... She said she thought that you and I were... married. It’s such a silly idea, don’t you think? I mean...' The boy shifted a bit on the edge, glancing at the detective quickly, as if checking if he was mad already. 'She said... that she called me your husband in front of you and you didn’t correct her, said it was Gimli who said it wasn’t like that...'

Dwalin’s heart was pounding so fast now that the rushing blood in his veins pushed any blurriness and tiredness away from his mind.

Ori glanced at him hesitantly again and then looked back at their hands.

'I know we never talked about it... getting married I mean. And it’s fine, really. I’m happy the way we are... I just...'

Dwalin’s arms wrapped around him and he pulled him in the water, kissing him so fiercely that he was probably bruising him. The water splashed, hitting the tiles beneath the tub with a muffled sound. Ori was blinking with surprise, his clothes soaking the water quickly. The detective’s hands smoothed the wet hair from his face tenderly before kissing him again, more gently this time.

'Ori,' he breathed out against the boy’s lips. This certainly wasn’t the way he imagined he would propose, with the boy all wet and him all naked but... He felt Ori’s breath on his lips, felt the fabric of his wet clothes rubbing over his naked skin, saw the love in the boy’s eyes...

And the more he was looking into those eyes, the more his heart was pounding. He caught his reflection in the mirror and realized that he was completely pale, his frantically beating heart probably using all the blood he had. Why was he so bloody nervous all of a sudden? 'I need to tell you something...'

Ori’s eyes got wide for a second but were clouded with worry almost at once. 'All right...'  

Dwalin held the boy’s hands in his, taking great comfort from that touch. 'Ori, you know-'

His phone on the laundry basket started to ring and they both looked at it. Dwalin was staring at it with blank expression and was he holding a gun at that moment he wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t have fired at it. What the hell? Was it him the whole world was against and not Cee?!

'It’s Nori,' Ori said quietly, looking at the screen.

Dwalin reached for it, prepared to start yelling as soon as he answered but the jeweller was faster.

'Please tell me you put it back.'

'What?' Dwalin asked, confused.

'I just talked to Andy, he told me the dragon was stolen sometime during the night. Please tell me you gave it back and I am not an accomplice in crime...'  


	13. When the world comes to an end, I’ll be here to hold your hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13, in which there's only Ori and Dwalin.....^^

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 13 - When the world comes to an end, I’ll be here to hold your hand

'Can you please explain to me how the hell did this happen?' Dwalin asked, looking at Nori.

The three of them were standing around the bed on which an open suitcase lay. And there, wrapped in one of Dwalin’s shirts, was the small golden statue of the crying dragon. Nori let out a desperate sound and sat down on the bed heavily, giving a rest to his ankle.

'You really don’t remember?' he asked, glancing at Dwalin incredulously. 'I broke the corkscrew last night, after Ori had passed out, and we wanted to sneak into the kitchen to take another one but someone was there, and as we hid behind the glass case, you noted that the dragon’s tail would do nicely as well... I remember agreeing with you because it really seemed like a brilliant idea back then. It took you about ten seconds to pick the lock...'

All three of them looked at the dragon again, at the little piece of cork still lingering on its tail. Dwalin ran a hand over his face, feeling the magical healing power of Radagast’s pills wearing off quickly.

'That is so...' Ori said, his expression unreadable; but the detective was sure he heard reproach in his voice.  

'If it helps I’m not particularly proud of myself...' he muttered. 'How did it end up here though?'

Nori frowned, almost as if he himself had trouble remembering that part of the night, 'Well, you said something about it being too pretty for Cee and that Ori should have it instead; said you’re not giving it back...'  

The boy’s features softened and he moved closer to Dwalin, hand slipping into his, intertwining their fingers.

'How come the police didn’t find it here?' Nori continued, looking around as if it should be obvious to anyone who entered the room that there was a stolen statue hidden in a suitcase somewhere. He was partly back to his normal self, neat and clean again, dressed in an expensive looking grey gown. But now there was familiar air around him, almost as if within the last two days they came from being two distant brothers and a cop to a family, facing crisis together like they should.

Dwalin sighed, sitting down himself and pulling Ori on his lap because he started to shiver with cold again, 'They didn’t even search this room, Gimli’s of that opinion that I could never commit a crime...'

'Ah...' Nori nodded his head like that was an understandable assumption before glancing up and looking at them again, 'Well... what do we do now?'

*****

Dwalin didn’t normally dream and when he did, he was usually more than glad to wake up. But that Saturday evening he slept deeply, not a single dream disturbing him. He promised Nori he'd figure something out but fell asleep as soon as the door closed behind the jeweller, exhausted. He was vaguely aware of someone knocking on their door later and Ori talking quietly to someone but never letting anyone in. He could hear the rain still falling and lulling him back to sleep each time he woke, the warm blankets around him wrapping him in their soft and warm goodness.

When he finally woke, he had no idea how much time had passed because the sky outside was just as dark as when he fell asleep. Ori was sitting cross-legged at the foot of their bed, polishing the golden dragon at the light of a single lamp, his whole attention devoted to that task. 

Dwalin blinked, trying to focus on his alarm clock. If it was already after midnight- But it was only ten o’clock... Good, that was good. He relaxed again, looking at the boy, at the slow precise movements with which his fingers were moving.

'Are you mad at me?' the detective asked quietly, starting the boy.

Ori nearly dropped the dragon, surprised at the sudden violation of the peaceful silence. He got like that when he was working on something, submerged in a world of his own so deeply that he sometimes forgot that there was a real world around him still. Dwalin liked to sit near him at times like that, careful not to speak because he found out that his voice could disturb Ori’s concentration easier than anything else. And he didn’t want to do that. Because when Ori was like this, fixing jewels older than both of them together with incredible delicacy, the detective could look at him for few hours in a row, relishing in the warm feeling of contentment and happiness... He loved it, just sitting there, watching Ori work while listening to old songs on radio...

'Why would I be mad at you?' the boy asked, honestly confused.

Dwalin shifted his gaze to the window, avoiding Ori’s eyes, 'Because I’m so barbarous... using something of obviously great craftsmanship as something so crude as a corkscrew...'

A soft smile appeared on Ori’s lips. 'You’re not barbarous, that’s the last thing I’d ever call you... And I’m not mad, I’m just trying to wipe off any fingerprints you might have left on it...' With that he finished wiping the dragon’s front paw and laid it neatly on a clean towel in front of him, crawling to the detective on all four and snuggling closer to him. Dwalin wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer, kissing him gently.  

'Do you feel better?' the boy asked, his voice so soothing that the detective’s eyes closed again.

'I love you...'

Dwalin could feel Ori blinking rapidly at the sudden confession, his eyelashes tickling the detective’s skin.

'Ori...'

'Hm?'

'Would you like to go on an adventure with me?'

'I would like to go anywhere with you,' Ori whispered, more to himself than Dwalin, planting a little kiss on the detective’s shoulder. 'Where shall we go?'

'The two of us shall return a lost dragon to its realm...'

'You want to go and put it back in its case? And you want me with you?' the excitement in the boy’s voice made the detective chuckle.

'Yeah, I do...'

Ori snuggled even closer to him, lips pressed to Dwalin’s throat, 'All right, I’ll go...'

The detective was holding him in his arms then, fingers running through the boy’s hair lightly, both of them listening to the soft tapping of the rain on the window. Bofur stopped playing on his sax and everything was suddenly very quiet in the hotel...

And as they lay there, listening to various doors on their floor opening and closing again as guests disappeared in their rooms one by one, Dwalin thought about the first time he saw the boy, pale and scared in the middle of a huge mansion. He thought about the way Ori was glancing at him hesitantly across the sitting room, neither of them knowing yet how important they’ll become to one another. He thought about never being sorry about knocking on _Café Ori_ ’s door that night...

'Ori, do you think the two of us will ever have a fight? A real bad one, where you yell at each other and blame each other for everything, where you think you regret all the time you’ve spent together...'

The boy was quiet for some time, his head resting on Dwalin’s chest, slowly rising and falling with it with the detective’s breath. 'No, I think the two of us... given the choice we’d always go straight for make up sex instead...'

Dwalin chuckled, and he didn’t need to see Ori’s face to know that the boy was blushing.

*****

'-I just hope they won’t put us in separate cells...'

Dwalin turned around on the stairs and pressed his lips to the boy’s. He had to otherwise he would burst out laughing and accidentally wake someone. Ori was fully determined to assist the detective bravely but once they left their room, various scenarios of what could go wrong and how they might get caught came popping into his mind and he felt the need to share them all. The boy also insisted on them doing their late night adventure right, which, for one part, consisted of them dressing in black clothes. It worked fine for Dwalin whose black coat had dried up pretty well by then, but the only black things Ori had with him were his pyjamas, so he was now padding behind the detective with not so many clothes on...  

'Try to have more faith in my skills, love, will you?' Dwalin winked at him, kissing him one more time with a smile, hands caressing the boy's sides.

'Oh,' Ori swallowed, still a bit dazed from the detective’s first kiss. 'I will... I mean, I already do...'

They walked down the last steps, sneaking past the reception and into the hall where the dragon’s case was. The room was dark and way too heated up for Dwalin’s liking; his throat started to hurt again, the dry air there not making breathing any easier. He took a little flashlight from his pocket, knelt beside the case and then listened for a moment before setting to work. Nothing moved inside the hotel, everything was nice and quiet as before...

He passed the flashlight to Ori who crept to him, hugging the dragon still wrapped in its towel to his chest. The lock clicked in Dwalin’s hands and he put it aside, opening the glass case carefully.

'You make it look awfully easy,' the boy whispered, moving closer to him, his breath brushing the detective’s cheek.

'It is easy...' Dwalin whispered back, adjusting glass in its position above the case and taking the dragon from Ori. He held it in the towel, setting it back on its red cushion before stopping and turning to the boy.

'Which way was it facing?'

Ori looked around, trying to remember, 'Um... the dining hall, turn it to the right a bit. There, stop.'

Dwalin withdrew his hand from the case, passing the towel back to Ori and shifting the glass again. It took even less time to lock it again than it took to unlock it and the detective turned to the boy with a grin, 'Let’s do something reckless, shall we?'

He clicked the button beneath the case and two spotlights inside it lit up. Their light hit the dragon, setting the gems ablaze and reflecting from them, casting little lights all across the room. Everything was suddenly sprinkled with gold and red dots, giving the illusion of a starlit night. The boy laughed, straightening up and looking at the ceiling and then his hands, little lights covering even him.

Dwalin’s black coat shifted around his leg as he tried to stand up, its feeling reminding him of something so he stayed where he was, kneeling on the floor.

'Ori...'

The boy looked at him, his eyes sparkling even more then the lights around him.

'I didn’t give you your birthday present yet...'

Ori took a step closer to him, 'Oh but you did, you brought me on holiday.'

The detective shook his head, 'That was so that I could give you the present. I’ve been trying to give it to you the whole day but... Well, it’s not midnight yet, so I still have time...' He reached inside his pocket, fingers closing around the little velvet box one last time. The boy was standing right in front of him now, looking at him curiously.

'Ori, you know how much I love you, right?' Dwalin asked. 

The boy nodded, studying the detective’s expression carefully.

'I know I probably don’t show or say too often but... I want you to know that I love you even more than that, more than you think.' The detective took a deep breath, reaching out for the boy’s hand with his free one. 'You know I’m no good with words, and what I’m trying to say here is that... Every morning when I wake up, every night when I go to sleep, I’m immensely grateful to whoever sent you my way. I’ll be forever grateful that you made me that coffee that first night, that you made me stay and asked me to come back again. I’ll be grateful for it for the rest of my life because something brought us together and you gave me a chance to see it, to understand... you didn’t let me walk away from it. I love you with all my heart, you’re the most precious thing in my life and I want it to always be that way. So, I wanted to ask you...' he placed the little box on Ori’s palm, fingers brushing the warm skin, 'Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?'  

Ori was looking back at him, wide-eyed, before his gaze slid to the box. And as he opened it with shaky hands, as his eyes fell on the rings inside, he breathed out hard and silent tears started to run down his cheeks.

Dwalin’s eyes were glued to the boy’s face and the moment he started to cry, a cold sweat covered the detective; but the boy was smiling and as he dropped on his knees in front of Dwalin, he wrapped his arms around the detective’s neck. 'Yes,' he half sobbed, half giggled and Dwalin embraced him with immense relief, pulling him close to himself. 'Yes, I will marry you!'

Ori pressed his lips to the detective’s neck and then pulled away just so he could kiss him on the lips, giggling all the time happily. 'You really want this?' he asked, assuring himself, eyes searching Dwalin’s expression, 'You’re not doing it because I brought it up...?'

Dwalin chuckled, 'Do you have any idea how long I’ve been planning this?' He kissed the boy one more time, brushing tears away from his cheeks and Ori returned the kiss, gently, tenderly, his tongue caressing the soft skin of Dwalin’s lips.

'I’m grateful too...' the boy whispered then, his eyes meeting Dwalin’s shyly. 'That evening you came to investigate into the mansion... once you came I didn’t care that I nearly died; I would take it all again, the fright and the pain, to finally be in the same room with you, to finally hear you voice, to finally have you look at me... You can’t imagine how happy I was when you knocked on my door that night, how scared I was you’ll never come again... I’m grateful you stayed with me despite all that happened then, I’m grateful for every day we’re together... I love you too, I love you more than anything in this entire world, I love how you treat me kind, how you take care of me when I’m sick, how you protect me when I’m in danger... You’re my life, you know? I want you to know that...'

Dwalin pulled the boy in his arms again, holding him tight, 'I do...'

They were sitting like that for a while, embracing each other and then Ori looked at the detective with a shy, yet incredibly happy smile. 'Can I try the ring on?'

Dwalin laughed, 'Sure you can. Oh wait, let me...' He reached for the box that the boy was clutching, taking the smaller ring and pulling it slowly on the boy’s ring finger. The gold shimmered in the light, making the ring look like it was pulsing with life.

'It’s so beautiful...' Ori whispered.

'Just like you,' Dwalin said quietly, planting a little kiss on the boy’s forehead. Ori beamed at him and then took the other ring, running his fingers over it just like Dwalin did that night he got them. 'Angles...' the boy breathed out, so quietly that had the detective not been sitting next to him, he wouldn’t have heard him. '...to protect...' Ori’s eyes looked at him hesitantly and Dwalin reached out his hand, understanding even without words what the boy wanted to do.

Ori’s warm fingers brushed over his and he pulled the bigger ring on the detective’s finger.

Dwalin felt his heart stop beating for one frightening moment. He never thought he’d have this, he’d be this... an engaged man. A sudden surge of happiness filled him and he smiled, meeting Ori’s equally happy eyes.

'Thank you,' the boy said, biting his lower lip with a smile. 'That’s the most wonderful birthday present I ever got...' The detective chuckled, kissing him, lips lingering on the boy’s for a moment, tasting, feeling, loving...

The stairs creaked suddenly in the main hall and Dwalin’s hand flew to the switch beneath the glass case, turning the spotlights off. He took hold of Ori’s hand and pulled him to his feet quickly, pushing him behind his back.

The creaking of the stairs grew louder and finally, through the glass door, they saw a dark figure slip behind the reception desk, lighting the lamp there. They moved closer to the wall quietly, observing Cee as he looked around himself and then ducked beneath the desk, extracting a small wooden box. He opened it, took out its contents and slowly started to make a cigar; sighing every now and then like he was the most suffering person in the world.

'How long do you think he’ll stay there?' Ori whispered into Dwalin’s ear and almost immediately got an answer to his question. Cee lit his cigar lazily, strolling around the room, peeking through the main door into the darkness outside and then strolling back to his desk again, smoking on his way. The owner's stomach rumbled all of a sudden and he muttered, 'Ah, I’m so hungry...' before reaching for an ashtray and making his way to the room where the detective and the boy were hiding.

'Let’s go,' Dwalin commanded in silent voice, grabbing Ori’s hand and quickly leading him to the dining hall. They heard Cee entering the room behind them, switching the lights on, gasping and then falling straight to the floor, probably fainting at the sight of his dragon...  


	14. I walk alone the city streets you used to walk along with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 14, in which Dwalin and Ori hide in the darkness, Bofur thinks about the past and nobody cares about Cee.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hiding under the bed, mumbling apologies about the late update. again*

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 14 - I walk alone the city streets you used to walk along with me

Dwalin stroke a match, looking at its light before glancing inside their room uneasily. Ori was sitting on the bed, wrapped in his gown, fingers running over his ring absent-mindedly...

The detective lit his cigarette, shielding the little fire with his palm. Thank god they’ll leave this place tomorrow... The nicotine was slowly spreading through Dwalin’s veins, making things clearer, making him realize just how much his throat still hurt; not that he really cared at that moment. This was his fourth cigarette since they came back from their little adventure and unless the boy moves soon, he’ll have another one. Anything to avoid entering that room and risk being asked whether he knew; at least till Ori comes to terms with things on his own...

Somehow he knew they should have turned around. As soon as they heard Cee falling to the floor, they should have turned around, sneak past him and disappear the way they came... but they didn’t. They rushed into the darkened dining hall and stopped dead when they heard a quiet voice coming from within the darkness.

'-knew you’d come...'

Dwalin reacted on instinct, not really knowing why, slipping behind the bar and crouching there with the boy by his side. Ori was breathing fast, still clutching the detective’s hand and it took Dwalin about two seconds to realize that it was just Bofur’s voice that had spoken. And once he got used to the dark he noticed that the room wasn’t completely without light; there was one lamp switched on on one of the tables and beside it the writer was standing, putting his sax into its case carefully. The detective could see his reflection in the mirror above the bar, could see his slow, deliberate moves and that ever-present melancholy smile of his. And just as he was about to stand up from his hiding place, someone else, someone he couldn’t see but recognized only too well, answered.

'How could you know?' 

Ori’s fingers tightened their grip around Dwalin’s. The boy’s eyes were glued to the mirror as well and they both watched as Nori slowly limped into the circle of light.

'You were always there when I finished playing... waiting for everyone else to leave before coming to talk to me...' Bofur answered, the small smile on his lips losing its sad tint for a fleeting second. 'I never saw you in the audience though, why?'

'Maybe you just weren’t looking right...' the jeweller said quietly, sitting down at Bofur’s table, trying not to strain his ankle and never meeting the writer’s gaze.

'Maybe you’re just too good at hiding in the crowd...' Bofur winced at his own words for some reason and looked at Nori apologetically, 'I didn’t mean it...'

'Why did you want me to come here?' Nori retorted, his voice suddenly very tired.  

'I didn’t...'

The writer closed the saxophone case and reached for the handle; but then stopped, lingering by the table and waiting for the jeweller to say something.  

Nori looked at him, his eyes searching Bofur’s face; trying to notice every single detail in which the once familiar features have changed during all those years they haven’t seen each other. His gaze flew to the gray-streaked sideburns, the wrinkles around Bofur’s eyes, the little scar under his lower lip... 'Then why are you still here?' he asked in the end. 'You’ve stopped playing an hour ago...'

Bofur’s eyes were still fixed on his case. He was clutching the handle firmly, almost as if in his mind it was some sort of anchor, supposed to support him, to keep him steady, should the need arise. 'Because I knew you’d come... but I didn’t want you to...'

A shiver ran through the jeweller and to hide it, he pulled his gown closer to himself, crossing his arms on his chest. He looked at the case as well, his expression set to reserved calmness but Dwalin knew that the writer’s words hurt him way more than he would ever let on. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it again but then gave out a laugh, half desperate, half resigned, 'I honestly don’t know what to say on that... I’ve spent all these years wondering what I’d say to you if I ever met you again... but I really don’t have anything to say on _that_.' 

Bofur looked at him, letting go of the handle of his case and leaning a little on table instead. 'I wanted you to come so that I could apologize. But at the same time I didn’t want you to come, because once I do that, once I apologize for what I’ve done... it will be all over...'

Nori frowned, looking the writer straight in the eyes, 'Well, it’s nice to see you haven’t changed, you’re still not making much sense... Everything’s pretty much over already. Has been for years now...'

Bofur smiled sadly, pulling a chair and sitting across the table from Nori. He was looking at the little lamp between them for a moment, fingertips tapping the table in a pattern... There was some sad tune playing in his mind now, Dwalin knew, and for some reason he wanted to hear it too. Hear that tune instead of words that were being said in that darkened dining hall...

 'I’m sorry, Nori,' Bofur whispered, 'I’m so sorry it...' He hesitated then, running his hands over his face, 'I’m sorry that I hit you when you kissed me... I didn’t know, I never realized... And at that moment I didn’t even think about what it meant, what it could mean... It just didn’t seem real to me, you know? And the way I reacted... I don’t even know where it came from...

I was sorry the moment I did it, but when I realized it, it was too late... by then you were gone. I thought I’ll go and apologize in the morning, give you some time to stop hating me for it... And I think, I sort of hoped you’ll come back... I was just sitting on that couch, the whole night, staring at the door, expecting you to walk through it at any moment like you always did...

But you didn’t... So at seven I decided to go to your place and I met Mrs. Jackson downstairs. She looked at me in this sad way and said, 'People just keep moving out of here, don’t they?' and I remember looking at her, having no idea what she’s talking about and having the most dreadful feeling in the world... And when she said, 'It’s really understandable, isn’t it? Poor boy, I’ve read about it in this morning’s papers...' it was as if she had hit me.

I don’t know what I told her on that, I just ran to the _Café_ , I had to see for myself that it really was you she was talking about... And there I finally realized what I’ve done; that you have left because of me, that I won’t see you again... I knew you wouldn’t go to the mansion but I didn’t know where else you would go, I didn’t know where else to look for you...

But I didn’t feel sad, you know? That’s the strangest thing. I was sort of numb, because deep down I was sure you wouldn’t leave me like that, without a word... No matter how much you hated me, we were still best mates, we were everything we had. So I believed you’ll come back. But the days passed and there was no sign of you... so in the end I made kind of pledge with myself, that I will stop waiting for you the moment your peace lily dies...

Remember that day you brought it with you? It was a little piece of nothing and you made me take care of it even though I never had anything live before... And during those weeks... it slowly turned into a little piece of you, the only one I had left. I was talking to it as if I was talking to you, and when I got mad at you, I yelled at the lily. I even threw it at the wall once... and that damn plant is still alive...

Don’t get me wrong, I know you had every right in the world to leave like that, after what I had done... And I’m not waiting for you or anything, not anymore.' Bofur reached for the glass beside his case, taking a sip of what looked like whiskey. 'I stopped waiting three months after that, when you got married... But I was right, wasn’t I? In the end you came, I got to see you one more time...' 

Nori’s eyes were fixed on Bofur’s glass and for the longest time neither of them said anything. But then the jeweller’s voice broke the silence, quiet and profoundly miserable, 'You say you had been waiting for me like you... But you didn’t feel that way about me, did you?'

'No, I didn’t...'

Nori nodded his head, rubbing his eyes. And then his whole body relaxed a little, almost as if some unspoken question that has been bothering him for years was now settled. 'I never hated you, not even once... It was all my bloody fault, that’s why I never came back...'

'Where were you?' Bofur asked quietly.

'I was there, in the mansion... Till the wedding...'

The writer took another sip from his glass, finishing its golden contents, 'What’s she like? Your wife, is she nice? I’ve seen her pictures in the press, she seemed nice...'

Nori hesitated with his answer, reaching inside his pocket and taking out a packet of cigarettes. 'She’s lovely...'

Bofur smiled a little, his gaze fixed on the jeweller’s face, 'I’m glad to hear that.'

'How about you, you’re doing all right? With Éowyn here and all...?'

The writer winced, nearly dropping his glass, 'How do you...?'

'I’ve... seen a picture of you two as well. The writer of the year awards, was it? Or something else, I’m not sure... I must have forgotten...' 

Bofur’s breath was shallow now, his eyes unable to leave Nori’s face, 'I don’t think you have, not you... You always remembered everything...'

'Yes,' Nori stood up from his chair, picking up his cigarette packet slowly, 'I always remembered everything... It would be a delightful feeling if I could forget it all though... Goodnight, Bofur.'

The jeweller headed towards the door to the terrace, leaving the writer sitting by his table, motionless, gazing at the saxophone case in front of him. But then Bofur got up as well, heading for the opposite door and as in some sad movie, both of them turned around when they reached their door; but each of them in a different time, neither of them seeing the other one do it...

Dwalin listened as both doors closed silently and only then did he realize that he could hardly feel his fingers. He looked at his hand which Ori was still clutching, the boy’s eyes wide and troubled...

...

Ori on the bed took a deep breath and his gaze found Dwalin’s just as the detective finished his cigarette. The detective opened the balcony door quietly and entered the room, eyes fixed on the boy’s face.

'Everything all right?' he asked and his own voice sounded unnaturally loud in the silence of the night.

Ori nodded, fidgeting with his gown’s belt, 'You knew?'

Ah...

'Yes...'

Dwalin reached their bed and as Ori’s hands slipped into his, he bent down and kissed the boy gently. He then sat down beside him, pulling him onto his lap and embracing him. Ori’s warm thighs pressed against his hips, sending tingling feeling through Dwalin’s body and he hugged the boy firmly.

'I always thought that Nori and Eilinor were so happy together...' Ori whispered, resting his head on the detective’s shoulder. 'It never crossed my mind that... If Eilinor knew that he was in love with...'

Dwalin kissed the top of the boy’s head, lips lingering in his hair, 'She knows...'

He felt Ori tense in his arms and pulled him closer again, running his hands over his back gently, soothing him. Dwalin didn’t find it all that odd, he knew that the boy’s family was full of very skilful liars, but for Ori... well, for him they have always been nice, decent and honest people without secrets of their own; no matter how many times he had a chance to see the contrary.

'Do you think Nori’s still in love with him?' the boy whispered after a while.

Dwalin grunted in agreement, looking at the hand Ori had on his upper arm, the ring there shimmering softly in the lamp light.

'You know how I sometimes hear songs around people...?' the boy muttered, as quietly as if he was saying some forbidden words. 'I haven’t thought about it for years now but... when I’m with Nori, I can’t hear it, I can’t hear a song. For as long as I can remember there was only a tune... some sad quiet melody...' Dwalin placed a kiss in Ori’s hair again, closing his eyes for a moment. 'How can he live with that...? Loving one person and yet being married to another one? It must be so hard... It’s so unfair that Bofur doesn’t love him back, if only-'

The detective didn’t say anything but maybe his hand hesitated on the boy’s back for a moment or he took a deep breath unintentionally, but somehow Ori sensed that he was of a different opinion and raised his eyes to him.

'You think he does? That he only lied before...?'

Dwalin smiled a little, pressing a little peck on the boy’s lips. 'Bofur’s no liar. He just doesn’t tell the whole truth, that’s all...'

'The whole truth?'   

The boy’s warm palms slipped to rest on Dwalin’s chest and for a moment the detective was utterly distracted by that simple move, by the way Ori’s brown honest eyes were peering at him with extraordinary belief that the detective knew everything, could deduce anything, correctly. One day he’ll have to explain to him that it’s not always like that...

'This morning Bofur got a little... push. From Éowyn. She is the mysterious femme fatale he’s been playing for for all these years... She suggested that there was someone in Bofur’s past who he loved deeply and wasn’t really over when they met. Bofur’s not the kind of person who kids himself, so I think it was more a matter of self preservation than denial... persuading himself that he and Nori were just friends so that he could go on with his life. Because by the time he realized he was in love with your brother, Nori was gone... and then married. I think he buried it deep down and wasn’t it for Éowyn’s today’s intervention, it would have stayed there, safe and sound. But he knows very well how he feels about Nori...'

'But why did he lie then? He said he didn’t love him...'

Dwalin shook his head, 'He replied honestly to what Nori was asking about - ' _You didn’t feel that way about me?_ '. Bofur replied ' _I didn’t_ ' and that was true; he replied in past tense because that was what Nori has been asking about. Bofur didn’t love him, not then, not when Nori kissed him. I think he realized later and had Nori asked ' _You don’t feel that way about me?_ ', Bofur’s honest answer to that would be ' _Yes, I do_ '... But he won’t say it, because he thinks that Nori and Eilinor are happy together... You heard how he asked about her, whether she’s nice...'

Dwalin felt the boy clutch the fabric of his gown. 'He also said he doesn’t want it to be over... We should...' Ori took a shaky breath and looked Dwalin straight in the eyes with his desperate ones, 'I don’t know what to do...'

'You don’t have to do anything.' Dwalin pressed his lips to the boy’s firmly, 'Look, they were in love once, may be still, but way too many years have passed. They both have different lives now and unless they sort it out themselves, unless they _want_ to sort it out themselves, there’s not much anyone can do. So stop worrying. Or, if you want to worry about something... your fiancé is sick. And bloody cold...'

The boy blushed, biting his lower lip with a soft smile, utterly distracted by the magical word _fiancé_. 'You can’t be that sick when you go running around the hotel returning dragons and hiding under bars...'

'You’re so cruel...' Dwalin muttered, sniffing and the boy giggled.

'You’re right,' Ori whispered after a moment, kissing the detective gently, 'I shouldn’t worry about them, this is our night. So...' he blushed even more,'... you want to cuddle?'

Dwalin laughed, laying the boy on the bed and shifting the blanket, 'Yeah, right. You’ll fall asleep as soon as I turn the lights off...'

The boy slipped under the blanket, giggling and making place for the detective. 'Well then you’ll just have to distract me enough so that I stay awake.'

'And how exactly am I supposed to do that?' Dwalin asked, checking whether the door was locked before approaching the bed again, looking at Ori’s adorable pink cheeks partly hidden by the blanket.

'You could tell me how you cracked the case...'

The detective chuckled, taking down his gown and switching the lamp off, 'Why would you think I cracked it?'

'Because ever since you found out that it was you and Nori who took the dragon, you are awfully calm. So I figured that once you knew that the dragon’s disappearance had nothing to do with the case, everything made sense to you and you know who did it... Am I right?'

Dwalin snuggled to the boy’s warm body and kissed him, taking great delight from the smug smile on Ori’s lips. 'You are. Nothing less from my beloved fiancé...'  


	15. The sun in your eyes made some of the lies worth believing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15, in which much is explained and in which some things remain to be solved..... and in which Gimli gets a kiss ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I fear this has already become a tradition but... my sincere apologies about the late update...

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 15 - The sun in your eyes made some of the lies worth believing

A sob sounded behind Dwalin but he didn’t turn around. He was looking intently at his coffee cup, watching the marble veins of the bar desk beneath it running freely in all directions. The dining room was suddenly very quiet and cold and the detective took a deep breath, wincing as pain filled his whole being.

Ori’s hand slipped into his, soft fingers squeezing Dwalin’s gently and the detective looked up at him, trying to focus on the boy’s concerned eyes. Ori ran his free hand over the detective’s forehead, brushing the pearls of sweat away and his grip on Dwalin tightened. The detective smiled at him, mouthing 'I’m fine'. He didn’t want to be the one to break the silence, he didn’t want to admit that his throat hurt so much that he could barely speak.

Another sob sounded and the detective glanced into the room. He saw Bofur first, sitting in the opposite corner, the writer’s eyes fixed on them. On Dwalin’s hand in Ori’s, on the boy’s fingers lingering gently in the detective’s beard... There was a strange expression on his face, and if Dwalin didn’t know better he’d say that it was pain that filled Bofur’s eyes... The writer looked up, met the detective’s gaze and upon realizing that Dwalin was looking back at him, quickly turned away. Almost as if he had been caught doing something that was not allowed...

Ori slid quietly from his barstool and stepped closer to the detective, pressing his warm body as close to him as he dared in the public, keeping him warm. Dwalin smiled at him again, brushing lightly thumb over the boy’s cheek before wrapping one arm around his waist comfortably and glancing over at Nori.

The jeweller was sitting with the Sméagols, neat and well-dressed. Pale, with dark circles under his eyes like he didn’t sleep at all last night. Calm, and yet apparently anxious to finally get away from the hotel. An untouched cup of coffee in front of him as well...

Another sob...

*****

'The heart, that’s where it begins...' Dwalin muttered that night, with his lips pressed to the boy’s neck.

Ori moaned beneath him, his hot breath warming the detective nicely. 'Heart...?'

'Eight years ago, the dragon downstairs used to have a heart in its paw...'

The boy’s fingers were tangled in Dwalin’s beard and the boy pulled him closer, lips caressing the detective’s, soft wet flesh wrapping around his lower lip, sucking on it slowly, lovingly. 'There would have to be... some remnants of it ..... somewhere on the paw,' Ori whispered between kisses. 'But there’s nothing...'

Dwalin broke the kiss, catching his breath and looking into the boy’s eyes. Even in the darkness he could see their deeply brown richness. There used to be something frightening about this... Before he met Ori, whenever he was looking into his lover’s eyes he felt like they could see right to his soul, see all his secrets, read all his thoughts... and in due time use them against him. It wasn’t like that with Ori, and he wondered why... maybe it was because he had no secrets to hide from the boy, maybe it was because he would let him take anything and everything, every little part of him...

'No, a jeweller removed it,' Dwalin replied, running his hand through Ori’s hair and brushing it aside from his forehead. 'So skilled, that you can’t see any trace of it. He removed it, gave it to someone... and then lied about seeing the dragon for the first time...'

The boy’s eyes were piercing his, and then widened, 'Mr. Sméagol...? But ...why?'  

'Why indeed,' the detective mused, pressing soft kisses to Ori’s temple, 'I think in his mind... it was a perfect metaphor...'

The boy blinked, distracted and obviously torn between wanting to keep Dwalin’s undivided attention solely on himself or finding out the truth, 'Of what?'

Dwalin chuckled and settled for keeping Ori in his arms then, so as not to let his mind wander to other things with his touches. 'Have you noticed that there are no other employees apart from Celeborn this weekend?'

'Well... it’s out of season and I guess there weren’t supposed to be all that many people here... I mean, Nori came just on a whim, just wanted to get out of the town. Bofur came only because of Éowyn and she and her husband are here because they wouldn’t fit in professor’s apartment... that’s why they all came here, isn’t it? Because Éowyn’s and doctor Radagast’s visits happened to collide?'

Dwalin smiled proudly at his Ori’s deductions, rewarding him with a light fondle of his length, 'Precisely, but you’re forgetting someone else who also wasn’t supposed to be here this weekend...'

'That being...?' the boy gasped, fingers digging into the detective’s skin.

'Mrs. Sméagol. Nori said Sméagol comes here twice a year while he’s on business trips in the area. He’s been staying here quite a few times before but this is the first time she’s here with him...'

'Well, she wanted to see the Rainbow Bridge...' Ori made a disappointed sound when Dwalin’s hand tried to withdraw from him but he was quicker. He held the detective’s hand and with blushing cheeks placed it right where it has been before.

'Or so she said...' Dwalin moved his fingers lazily with a small smile.

'You think... she lied?'

'No, I think it was true enough, and it provided her with a good excuse to come here. But she had plenty of opportunities to come before, so why now? What prompted her now? A suspicion, I’d say... She found a trace of lipstick on a shirt, perhaps caught a whiff of perfume while unpacking her husband’s suitcase...'

Ori eyes flew open and he looked up at Dwalin, incredulous. 'You think he has a lover around here somewhere?'

'I don’t think. I know...' the detective let his fingers wander over Ori again, greatly enjoying the way the boy’s eyes fluttered shut...

*****

'Which one was it, Mrs. Sméagol?' Gimli’s unnaturally quiet voice spoke. He sounded patient, sad even, somehow.

Dwalin watched as the woman’s reflection in the mirror behind the bar dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, trying to keep her voice steady as she answered, 'A hair. I’ve found a hair... Long, blonde one...'

Her husband next to her seemed to freeze in his seat, his face ashen.

*****

Ori managed to untangle himself from the detective and sat up in the bed, the blanket falling from his upper body. Dwalin bit his lip while observing the soft skin on the boy’s bare chest. Well this was doing nothing for his concentration...

The boy frowned as he gazed back at him. There was something inside Ori that forced him to look for goodness in other people’s hearts, to look over their faults and weaknesses, to find deeper motives behind their actions and prove that perhaps deep down at their cores they weren’t bad people; doing bad things simply because they were evil or enjoyed it, but rather because they were forced so by unfortunate circumstances... One thing he did not look so kindly upon though, was cheating. If you stop loving someone, then by all means tell them, break and crush their heart if you must but don’t do something so despicable as lie to them and cheat on them behind their backs...

'You know who it is...? But...' the boy frowned even more, 'surely it can’t be Éowyn...'  

'Mrs. Sméagol came here with the intention of finding her husband’s lover. She gets here and the only other woman in sight is Éowyn... There was only one logical conclusion for her...'

'So she went and shot her?'

The detective shook his head, 'I don’t think she ever wanted to hurt anyone, she just wanted to make sure that her suspicion was correct... But even if it was, she wouldn’t do anything about it. She would go on pretending that she doesn’t know the true reason why her husband comes here. Because after all, in the end he always comes back to her...'

Ori was studying his face with worried expression and then whispered, 'You said that she never wanted to hurt anyone... does that mean...'

'Something happened that forced her to act...'

*****

Mrs. Sméagol’s tear-covered cheeks turned red as a sudden flash of anger flew through her. She jumped to her feet and glared at Éowyn with all the hatred a woman could possibly muster. Éowyn blinked with surprise and on instinct ducked in her chair as if half expecting another bullet to hurl in her direction at any moment.

'Such a wench!' Mrs. Sméagol hissed. She didn’t move, she stood right where she was, her fists clenched, her whole body trembling with rage. 'She deserved it! And even more! Too bad I was too sick to aim properly otherwise I would have killed her! And I wouldn’t lose my sleep over it!'

'What the hell are you talking about?' Faramir yelled suddenly and shoving Éowyn behind his back, stood between her and Mrs. Sméagol.

The anger seemed to disappear from the woman as quickly as it came as she gazed into Faramir’s eyes, her features softening until new tears filled her eyes. 'And you... I did it for you too...'

*****

_'Mr. Faramir looks like a very respectable and nice man, I’m sure he would never hurt anyone. Even if that person deserved it._ That’s what she told Gimli and me when we were interrogating her... _Even if that person deserved it_...'

Dwalin looked at Ori who was shivering slightly in the chilly night air and while pressing his lips to the boy’s side pulled him back beneath the blanket. Ori snuggled closer to him and the detective wrapped him in his arms, trying to pass onto him some of the heat from his own feverish body. 

'Doctor Radagast tended to her during that night when she was poisoned, and I’m pretty sure he mentioned how peculiar the poisonings were, might have even suggested that they were not an accident at all... So there she was, knowing that she was not the only one sick but Faramir as well... While Sméagol and Éowyn were perfectly fine. Wouldn’t you come to the same conclusion as her? She knew this was supposed to be her husband and his lover’s week, she persisted to come here as well and perhaps the lover wasn’t so forgiving as her, lost her temper and decided to do away with Mrs. Sméagol. That was one thing, she could understand that... But keep in mind that she thought that that supposed lover was Éowyn and now Faramir was poisoned too... That nice man who obviously cares for his wife so much. I think that was when she decided to shoot her, because she thought Éowyn wanted to kill her husband as well...'

'But Éowyn didn’t poison anyone...'

Dwalin nodded his head slowly, 'No, all this was just a series of unhappy misunderstandings... Mrs. Sméagol was wrong about the intended targets of the poisonings, she was wrong about Éowyn being the only woman in the hotel and therefore the only logical mistress...'

Ori’s legs slipped between the detective’s, rubbing them for warmth but now he tensed and looked into Dwalin’s eyes, 'What do you mean - not the only woman? There are no other women here...'

The detective’s eyes closed for a moment as he tried to ignore the fact that his legs were not the only thing the boy was accidentally rubbing but then his gaze slid to the portrait above the mantelpiece and he muttered, more to himself than to Ori, 'Really?'

*****

'Does anyone recognize this woman?' Gimli asked, setting the portrait from Dwalin’s and Ori’s room on one of the tables so that everyone could see it.

Everybody in the dining hall turned their attention to the portrait curiously. Everybody besides Nori who continued to stare at his coffee cup. There was a general murmuring of ' _No_ 's and Bofur, who was closest to the portrait glanced at Gimli, 'I assumed it was one of Cee’s relatives or something. A grandma when she was young, maybe. I mean, they look a bit alike...'

A general murmur of ' _Yes_ 's.

Cee’s head snapped up, the look on his face alarmed and a bit confused, almost as if he wasn’t really paying attention so far and now that his name was mentioned he realized he should be listening.

Nori raised his head for the first time and looked at Bofur briefly before shifting to look at Gimli as everyone else.

'They do indeed, don’t they?' the officer agreed. 'Similar portraits of this lady are in each room all over the hotel. Except for yours...' He turned to the Sméagols.

*****

Dwalin chuckled, watching Ori with his nose practically glued to the portrait. Then the boy exclaimed in surprise and turned to the detective, wide-eyed, 'You can’t be serious...'

' _I like big things..._ That’s what Sméagol told us that first evening. Big jewels, big gems... Big people, I guess. Well, one certainly can’t deny that Celeborn’s pretty tall. Huge, compared to Sméagol.'

'But why... the dress...?'

'Everybody’s got different tastes, love. I rather think that this has been going on for years... The jeweller going on business trips and twice a year visiting his lover. Or _muse_ , which is more likely...' Dwalin glanced at the portrait again, watching the dress, the composition, the jewels... Cee’s almost ethereal expression. 'Yeah, I think that’s how it was... They would meet, spend a week together and Sméagol would have enough ideas for his work for the next six months, while Celeborn stays here, observing his lover’s work from afar, content that every jewel that comes from Sméagol’s hands, every ring or necklace, comes into existence because of him. Sméagol made it with Cee on his mind...'

Ori was looking at him quietly, and then shuffled to the bed, getting under the warm blankets again. 'He never left his wife though...'

'No...'

'That’s the dragon’s metaphor, isn’t it? The body belongs to Cee, but the heart to Mrs. Sméagol... And those tears... two people love him and he’s cheating on both of them, hurting both of them...'

'Well, he might be sorry about it... This was supposed to be his and Cee’s week. That’s why there are no other employees; that’s why Sméagol tried to change his wife’s mind about coming here, telling her there will be lots of things doing nothing for her allergies... He could have just stayed at home but I think the urge to come here, to see Cee, was stronger despite it all. He cares about both of them. He went and picked those blueberries for Celeborn when he heard he was sick, after all; he rushed to comfort him when the dragon was stolen and stopped only because Gimli and I were there...'

*****

Gimli pulled the beret from Cee’s head in one fluent motion and a cascade of long blonde hair tumbled to the owner’s shoulders. The colour drained from Mrs. Sméagol’s face, leaving her as white as a ghost. Next to her, Mr. Sméagol seemed to shrink even more into his seat, never saying a word, never looking at anyone.

Out of the three of them, Cee was the fastest to recover. He ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing it, put his cup on the table, swallowed hard and then sat back upright, trying very hard to look like nothing of this really involved him, that this was solely between the Sméagols.

'T-then... the poisoning... it was... it was an accident...? S-she didn’t... and I...' Mrs. Sméagol choked, her wide eyes fixing on Éowyn in disbelief, horror written across her face.

'I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. The poisoning was no accident, am I right, Mr.Celeborn?' Gimli asked.

'Huh?' the owner looked at him, affronted. 'W-what are you-?'

Gimli turned to Legolas who up till then managed to impressively blend in with his surroundings, up to the point where even Dwalin forgot that he was even there. The lab technician passed him the bottle he had found the day before along with some notes and Gimli jerked it from him, careful not to look at or touch the young blonde man.

A smile flickered on Dwalin’s lips for a second.

*****

'You’ll never believe this!' Gimli’s flushed, beaming face was the first thing he saw when he opened the door that morning after a pretty much sleepless night.

'Believe what?' Dwalin rasped.

'The dragon! It’s back! Can you believe it? You have to come with me and see!'

Gimli was in such an enthusiastic mode that for a moment Dwalin feared he’ll reach for his hand and drag him with him, but Ori suddenly appeared beside the detective, leaning against him perhaps a tiny bit more than he normally would have.

'That is,' the officer frowned as soon as he saw him, 'if your boyfriend lets you out of his sight for a moment.'

The boy placed his left hand on Dwalin’s arm in a completely casual movement, 'His boyfriend might have, but his fiancé won’t, because he’s ill.'

Gimli laughed but then his eyes fell on the golden ring still shimmering on Ori’s ring finger. Dwalin watched as the officer staggered back, his face turning more and more pale with every second, his mouth opening and closing comically until it stayed open, giving him the expression of a constant disbelief.

'Gimli, are you all right?' Dwalin asked, eyeing the officer with concern. 'Gimli... Gimli!'

Ori’s hand left the detective’s and he took a step closer to Gimli, apparently worried.

'Here, leave this to me,' an amused voice spoke from the hallway and both Dwalin and Ori flinched as neither of them noticed Legolas leaning softly on the wall next to their door. The lab technician approached Gimli with a smile, cupped his cheeks and then pressed his lips to the officer’s firmly. For the longest moment nothing happened but then a terrible shriek sounded from Gimli and he staggered from Legolas, his face the very personification of disgust and panic. He stood, shivering and glaring, in some karate position Dwalin didn’t know, prepared to attack the technician should he try to get near him again. Legolas, in the meanwhile, was roaring with laughter.

'When you two love birds finish here, get inside, I have to tell you something about the case,' Dwalin muttered, seizing Ori’s hand and pulling him inside their room.

*****

'A very special brand of oyster sauce, the recipe of which is a very well guarded secret. Only one hundred bottles is produced each year and it is supposed to be consumed within one month. Impressively expensive and only sold in Hong Kong. Can you tell us how it came to your possession, Mr.Celeborn?'

'It... um... I...'

'Mr. Sméagol, have you been to the World’s jewel exhibition in Hong Kong six years ago?'

The small man cringed, 'Y-yes...'

'Did you buy this bottle there and gave it to Mr. Celeborn?'

The jeweller focused on the bottle in the plastic sack Gimli was showing him and then nodded a little.

'The hell are you crazy?' Faramir’s furious voice sounded as he glared at Cee, 'Do you realize how many people you could have killed with it?'

'I never wanted to kill anyone!' the owner yelled back, tears coming into his eyes, 'I just wanted to make her sick!' He pointed accusingly at Mrs. Sméagol who slumped into her seat in shock. 'This was our week, god dammit! I have him for two weeks each year and even that is too much for her?!' He glared at the dark-haired woman, 'You - you selfish - person you! I knew she came because she must have had some suspicion, so I tried to be nice to her, I even removed my portrait from their room so she wouldn’t recognize me on it because I thought that over time she’ll think she was wrong, that Andy had no one beside her. But she still wouldn’t let him out of her sight! So I... I wanted to make her sick, put her in bed so that he would have time for me! During dinner... she asked for a sauce and that’s how the idea came to me. I had this bottle for years, I could never throw away anything he gave me and I knew she’s allergic to everything but just to be sure I put some peanut butter in it. I never thought anyone else would take it! How the hell was I supposed to know that anyone else would take it?'

'But you were sick too,' Éowyn noted, her voice quivering.

'I ate some as well,' Cee admitted, dropping his head, 'at night, when I heard some people were sick... It would have been obvious that I did it on purpose if I didn’t eat it as well...'

And then they were crying, Cee and Mrs. Sméagol...

*****

'I told you they won’t fix it.'

Éowyn was standing beside Dwalin in front of the main door, soft smile on her lips.

'Yeah, you did...' the detective’s breath was shallow and it felt like every intake of air was burning his throat.

As they watched, professor Gandalf opened the trunk of Radagast’s car, frowning, black smears on his face. Faramir was standing beside him, just as black and helped Gandalf take out the suitcases. Radagast himself was seated on the passenger’s seat, leaning lazily against it and consulting what appeared to be a car manual. His lips were moving as he read and Faramir and Gandalf looked at each other, and then at the puffs of white smoke escaping through the open passenger door, shaking their heads in disbelief. Suddenly Radagast smiled widely, observing the sky and it seemed that he had completely forgotten about his broken car.

Éowyn giggled, and then turned to Dwalin. 'Thank you for taking them to town. And also... for solving this, for not dragging Bofur into it when Faramir asked about the stalker...'

The detective nodded and with a gentle squeeze of his hand the blonde woman went to her husband.

A suitcase neatly landed beside Dwalin then and he turned to look at Nori who was just putting his coat on. He didn’t look much better than he did in the morning but still way more presentable than the detective.

'Where’s Ori?' the jeweller asked.

'Went to get a book he forgot in the room...'

Nori nodded his head, watching as the last police car left the parking lot.

'What’s going to happen to them?'

'That depends on whether anyone will press any charges. The hearing’s tomorrow, till then Mrs. Sméagol and Celeborn will remain in custody...'

The jeweller nodded his head again, running a hand over his smoothly shaven cheeks. 'What a weekend... So, did you get the answer you hoped for?'

Dwalin looked at his finger where light traces of the ring could still be seen and he smiled, 'Yeah, yeah, I did...'

'Good,' the jeweller smiled as well, 'I’m happy for you two...'

'Nori...' Dwalin started but when Nori looked at him, he didn’t really know what he wanted to say. _Go and talk to Bofur, there is something you haven’t told each other yesterday? I know because I was hiding behind the bar the whole time and heard it all?_ Yeah, right...

But when he didn’t say anything the jeweller spoke instead, 'Listen, I was wondering whether you could give me lift to the town?' He bent down and grabbed his suitcase, 'I can’t really drive with that ankle...'

'Sure,' Dwalin nodded, 'If you don’t mind squeezing with those two...' The detective motioned to the professor and Radagast who were cheerfully laying their stuff next to Dwalin’s car.

But before Nori could answer someone passed between them, yanking the suitcase from the jeweller’s hand, 'I’ll give you a lift, I’m going your way anyway...'

Bofur made ten more steps and then stopped without turning around, waiting for Nori to do something. The jeweller stood still, surprised, various emotions reflecting on his face and then he glanced at Dwalin, as if unsure what to do next. The detective was looking back at him, careful to keep his expression neutral and then Nori took a shaky breath, quietly muttering, 'All right...'

Bofur’s shoulders relaxed visibly and he marched towards his car with Nori’s suitcase.

'Tell Ori I’ll call him,' the jeweller said, doing his best to avoid looking at Dwalin, or Bofur, or Éowyn who seemed to be watching the whole curious exchange from beside her car.

'I’ll tell him you’ll drop by,' the detective nodded with a smile.

And as Nori limped after Bofur, Dwalin caught Éowyn’s eye. She was looking at him with wide eyes of someone who has finally, after many years, been hit with understanding. And as Dwalin smiled at her, she pressed her hand to her mouth, stifling a happy laugh and tears appeared in her eyes. Her husband turned to her, asking her something but she only shook her head and with a final wave at Dwalin got into their car.  


	16. I can hear your laughter, I can see your smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 16, in which a little piece of napkin plays an important role....... :)

# The Mystery of the Crying Dragon

### Chapter 16 - I can hear your laughter, I can see your smile

_One month later_

The sound of car breaks sounded for about a hundredth time that morning and as another cab skidded to halt exactly one millimetre behind the car in front of it, Dwalin chuckled. This was why he loved the first snow. There was something immensely satisfying about watching cars trying to stop at the traffic lights from a nice and warm office. It was funny though, the way the first snow always seemed to surprise everyone, as if during the year everybody forgot that there was a season called winter and it invariably brought snow with it...

'Enjoying yourself?' Thorin’s quiet voice spoke, hardly audible over the Christmas carols sounding from every radio on the precinct. They were starting to play Christmas songs earlier and earlier each year. It was the end of November, for heaven’s sake, shouldn’t they at least wait till the beginning of December? 

'You can tell?' Dwalin smiled and turned from the window to look at his friend as the traffic lights turned to green and the line of snow-surprised drivers started to move again slowly.

A small smile appeared on the chief inspector’s lips as well, 'You know it’s not really nice to laugh at some poor cabbies hitting each other’s cars...'

'With the insurances they have, they’re probably laughing as well...' Dwalin stubbed his cigarette and closed the window just as Thorin finished his paperwork, piling it neatly at the left corner of his table, revealing a small, cream-coloured envelope lying beneath it. 'Isn’t it a little early for Christmas cards?' the detective asked with a raised eyebrow.

The chief inspector hesitated as his gaze fell on the envelope as well, his fingers slowly tapping its smooth surface. He took a deep breath, grabbed it and passed it to Dwalin. 'It’s for you, actually...'

The detective’s brows rose even higher but as he held the soft paper in his hands he grinned at Thorin, 'Don’t tell me you’re giving me some extra money for my valuable and devoted- what the hell is this?'

Out of the envelope he took a card and what appeared to be two train tickets.

'What does it look like?' Thorin muttered impatiently.

Dwalin directed his attention to the card because the tickets provided no answer whatsoever. It was a pretty fancy paper, folded in half and the detective unfolded it carefully only to be greeted by turtledoves, and rose petals, and small hearts, and golden letters... letters forming words that the detective had to read twice before registering their meaning. _Bilbo... Thorin... to be married... on... in..._

Dwalin looked at Thorin who was looking back at him almost anxiously, 'A wedding?'

The chief inspector’s black-haired head nodded.

'It’s on Christmas Eve,' the detective said, sounding like he was telling Thorin something he perhaps might have missed.

'I know.'

'On the other side of mountains...' Dwalin glanced at the invitation again, making sure he got the address right.

'I know.'

The detective looked at the train tickets in his other hand, their meaning much more clear now. He checked the date.

'You want to go by train. Over the mountains. One day before the wedding. During Christmas.'

'Yes.'

'You do realize you’ll probably get stranded there? In some... snow avalanche or something?'

A shadow of smile flickered across Thorin’s lips. 'Yes...'

'You two actually agreed on this?'

'Yes.'

They were staring at each other for few moments before Dwalin started to laugh, 'Well, that’s a first! You two finally agreeing on something concerning the wedding! I mean - apart from agreeing that you’ll do it. Congratulations, man!'

A bigger smile appeared on Thorin’s lips and as he hugged his friend it got even wider, making him look truly happy, 'Thank you.' Dwalin was looking at him, realizing that Thorin never smiled like this before, not until he got his Bilbo back... and soon they’ll be bound forever. Which rather reminded him...

Dwalin looked at the tickets again, 'You two want Ori and me to go on that crazy trip with you?'

'Well, I can’t very well get married without my best man, can I?' Thorin chuckled, patting the detective’s shoulder.

Dwalin smiled back at him, for a second overwhelmed by the chief inspector’s request, 'But I thought... you’d want Fili to be there...'

'He’s coming as well, I’ve managed to switch the shifts for all of us... And yes, it cost me...' Thorin frowned, looking through the glass door of their office to the corridor where Legolas was just passing, grinning widely at them and winking.

'I don’t really want to know,' Dwalin muttered, watching the blonde disappear.

'Yeah, I don’t really want to tell you either...'

That caught the detective’s attention and he studied Thorin’s face with worry, 'And what does that mean?'

The chief inspector coughed, suddenly remembering that it was of utmost importance to rearrange the paperwork on his table again. 'Lass... agreed to take some shifts...'

'In exchange for...?'

'In exchange for... well, it’s not only that... we needed an extra person anyway... and he suggested we could...'

'Gimli...' Dwalin sighed, plopping himself onto his chair.

'Gimli,' Thorin confirmed.

*****

During evening the snow had slowly turned into rain and by the time Dwalin reached the _Café_ , he was drenched to the bone. He should have listened to Ori in the morning, when the boy was kissing him at the door, telling him to take an umbrella... Dwalin turned his coat collar up and as he padded through the puddles in the road, he glanced to their windows.

One of the curtains was pushed aside slightly and there was something black at the right corner. Something that looked suspiciously like... what on earth was Ori doing with...The detective didn’t stop in the rain to contemplate about it and rather closed the distance to the _Café'_ s door, opening it and sliding inside quickly before locking it again.

The wonderful smell of fresh gingerbreads hit him at once and he smiled, almost floating on that gorgeous feeling that this was his home, that all these delicious things were baked by his love, that Ori was waiting for him upstairs. He patted his pocket, making sure the wedding invitation and train tickets were still safely there. He couldn’t wait to tell Ori about it, athough... given the amount of time the boy and Bilbo spent on the phone, Ori probably knew already.

He entered their apartment, greeted by the warmth and cosy darkness, hearing the soft humming of the shower. Hanging his coat he made his way to the telescope by the window. It was Ori’s, from when he was stargazing as a kid and as far as Dwalin could remember, he had never seen it outside of neatly packed box in their closet. He glanced through the lenses, briefly pondering about what he saw and then tip-toed quietly to the bathroom.

The boy was standing with his back to him, water hitting his slender shoulders gently before caressing the smooth skin on its way down. The steam has already wrapped everything in its tender and most welcoming arms and the detective pressed himself to the boy, not giving a damn about his already wet clothes. Ori startled, turning around quickly before giggling and hitting Dwalin playfully with his fist.

'You nearly gave me a heart-attack!'

Dwalin chuckled as Ori pressed himself to him again, and kissed those sweet, deliciously wet lips. 'Apologies...' He placed one tiny kiss after another along the boy’s neck until he was nuzzling Ori’s shoulders, the boy trembling in his arms, his excitement more than obvious against Dwalin’s thigh. The detective smiled into the kiss, it didn’t really take much to get Ori all ready.

'I might forgive you... if you treat me nicely...' the boy moaned.

Dwalin’s hands slid to his backside and Ori gasped, pulling at the detective’s shirt so fiercely that one of the buttons actually flew away, disappearing somewhere in the steam and falling into the water with a gentle plop. Ori immediately turned red, glancing at Dwalin like he had just done something terrible. 'I’ll fix it-'

The detective silenced him with a kiss, mumbling, 'Tomorrow... or the next day... or the day after that...' 

The boy nodded, kissing him back so tenderly and yet passionately that soon they both were gasping for breath, Ori pulling them right beneath the shower head. And that’s when Dwalin remembered.

'The tickets!' he yelled, leaping from the water and giving Ori a brand new fright.

'What?' the boy shrieked equally loudly, alarmed, watching Dwalin strip his wet shirt, searching the pockets quickly.

 _'Do me a favour,'_ Thorin muttered as they were leaving the precinct, _'once you get home, give those tickets straight away to Ori. We all know your ability to put things in places where no one is ever going to find them again... Those tickets weren’t for free, you know.'_

Dwalin pulled the tickets out with a triumphant grin. Still dry, all was well. He looked at Ori who was gazing back at him like he had gone mad, standing with his hands pressed to his chest as if trying to cover his nudity. All on the wrong places, needless to say, Dwalin thought as he involuntarily looked at the boy’s hardness.

It might have been funny, except when Ori was standing like that, all naked, he looked about ten years younger and Dwalin suddenly felt like a pervert. He coughed, showing the tickets to Ori.

'Those are... for Bilbo’s and Tho-'

'Oh!' Ori was suddenly beside him, curiosity written all over his face and he studied the tickets with interest, rubbing over Dwalin’s side unconsciously. 'Bilbo told me about them in the morning, it’s a lovely idea, isn’t it?'

'Yeah,' the detective nodded, relief washing over him because the boy looked his own age again, 'nothing like getting stuck on the train and missing your own wedding...'

Ori giggled, still looking at the tickets, 'They say there isn’t going to be much snow that week and besides, Bilbo’s whole family lives on the other side of the mountains, it’s only natural he wants a wedding there.'

'Uhuh, and what exactly did he have to promise Thorin to get him to agree to that?'

A crimson blush covered Ori’s cheeks, 'Well... that he... that is... um...'

Dwalin bit his tongue so that he wouldn’t chuckle at the boy’s embarrassment. Ori's red cheeks made it more than clear of what nature was the thing Bilbo promised to Thorin and to be honest the detective highly doubted it was something he and Ori haven’t tried yet.

'Um... I better... put these in some dry place.' Ori grabbed a towel and was out of the bathroom before Dwalin could even say something. So instead he stopped the water, pulled down his own wet clothes with some difficulty and wrapped a towel around himself as well. There will be enough time to get a shower once he gets Ori back in it with him.

He found the boy in the darkened living room, stowing the tickets into a white wooden box. Ori put everything of any value into that box. If they ever got robbed, the thieves would have a pretty easy job.

'So are you going to tell me why you’re spying on Bofur?' he asked as he filled the kettle with water.

The boy blinked with surprise, 'How...? Oh...' He looked at the telescope and understood right away how Dwalin knew. He returned his box on the shelf and then he looked at the ground, kicking it softly with the big toe of his right foot. Finally he looked at Dwalin and hesitantly made his way to him, standing so close that the detective could see the drops of water on his cheeks, even though the only light he had was the blue glow from the kettle. He reached out and caressed Ori’s cheek, wonderfully warm and soft.

'I might have done something... Even though it isn’t, strictly speaking, any of my business...'

'Which is?' Dwalin asked carefully.

'I might have... unintentionally mentioned in front of Bofur that Nori is getting divorced... completely accidentally...'

The detective stifled a chuckle, 'You do realize I can see right through that, don’t you? I know you did it perfectly intentionally and I’m not going to suddenly change my opinion of you because of that...'

Ori smiled at him gratefully, lovingly and Dwalin wondered, not for the first time, whether the boy would have taken it as well as he did when he learned about Nori’s and Eilinor’s divorce, had he not known about the Nori/Bofur affair. When the jeweller announced it to them officially during a forced 'the whole family' dinner a week ago, Dwalin did his best to look surprised, one hand squeezing Ori’s so as not to let him finish his ' _Is it because of-_ ' question. Luckily right at that moment Eilinor turned to them, watching her little brother-in-law with worried eyes, ' _It_ _is because of me, Ori. I have... I have met someone..._ ' 

'That’s not all though...' the boy mumbled now, looking at Dwalin to see his reaction.

And this time the detective laughed, 'All right, what else did you do?'

'Well... after I closed today, I was sitting in one of the booths, doing paperwork. I was looking for a number of one of my fondant suppliers when Bofur came and after I mentioned that Nori’s getting divorced, I... pretended to go and check on one of the ovens and left my phonebook opened on Nori’s number...'

'And?'

'And...' Ori took his hand and led him to the telescope, motioning for him to look through it. Dwalin did, seeing the exactly same picture he did when he entered the apartment. Bofur was on his balcony, smoking and gazing at the dark clouded sky.

'He’s been there like that for the last two hours, he hasn’t moved, except when he lights a cigarette. In the end I got so sleepy from watching him I had to take a shower to wake up a bit...'

'But why on earth are you watching him?'

'Look at his left hand!' Ori urged and Dwalin bent down one more time. There was a slightly pink crumpled paper in Bofur’s hand and it looked like the writer was holding to it firmly. 'Is that...?'

'One of my napkins,' the boy announced proudly, almost like he was the one who invented them, 'there were the last ones of this colour left at the table where I was sitting. I bet you anything Bofur had written Nori’s number on it and now he’s thinking whether or not to call him.'

Dwalin nearly poked his eye out as he tried to focus on that mysterious piece of paper. But there was no doubt about it, the boy was right... 'One helluva match-maker you are...'

Ori grinned, folding his hands behind his back and rocking on his feet lightly, 'I thought... my brother has already done enough, you said yourself that Bofur was always waiting for Nori to do something. I mean, Nori was the one who kissed Bofur and he was the one who asked about Bofur’s feelings and he was the one who agreed to get in the car with Bofur... He was constantly giving him a chance to say something, so I figured... it’s Bofur’s turn now.'

'So shall we stalk Bofur tonight? Have a sleepover on the couch?' Dwalin chuckled, adjusting the telescope lenses to see more clearly but stopped when he felt Ori’s warm hands on his hips, untangling his towel effortlessly, fingertips tracing the muscles of his abdomen, toying with the dark hair there. The detective sucked in the air sharply, wondering how on earth was it possible that Ori’s fingers were so skilled; he didn’t move though, he let Ori’s fingers caress whatever they liked.

The boy’s lips were slowly kissing down his spine, his hot breath tickling the detective’s sensitive skin and Dwalin didn’t know where he should direct his attention. To Ori’s lips nuzzling at his shoulders now, or his hands moving steadily over his... oh good heavens! An embarrassingly loud cry of pleasure escaped Dwalin’s lips as Ori's towel fell to the floor as well and he bent a bit, supporting his weight on the window frame. Or simply _that_ , Ori’s warm naked body pressed to his in the closest possible way.

He felt all thoughts slowly leaving his mind, leaving place for the only thing that mattered to him. Ori...

'Hmm?' the boy purred behind him and the detective realized that he had said his name aloud. He turned around, kissing the boy and Ori’s small hands wrapped around his neck gently.

And as Dwalin laid him on the sofa, as he slowly climbed atop of him, his gaze flickered out of the window for a second and he smiled before kissing Ori again. He should tell him... but then again, it could wait till morning... The boy’s hands were stroking his back softly, pulling him closer; warm brown eyes closed, cheeks all flushed, lips muttering Dwalin’s name in between the kisses... Yeah, it could wait.

Because Dwalin didn’t need the telescope to see Bofur on his balcony, he saw him fairly well even without it. He saw him putting a phone to his ear, and as his lips began to move a pink napkin floated from his fingers, carried away by the wind...  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many and many thanks to everyone who was sticking with me right to the end, especially Lomelindi (PirateColey), Marem, thekeyholder, sra_danvers, Tommyginger and Annastesia! Thank you so much for reading this story and taking your time to comment, you wonderful, brilliant people <3


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